The study also established that persons with periodontal disease are more  likely to have a rare form of the gene responsible for fibrinogen expression  than persons with no periodontal disease, according to  UB news release.

The findings were presented last week at the annual meeting of the International Association for Dental Research.

"This study provides another potential link between chronic infections, such as periodontal disease, and atherosclerotic heart disease," said Ernesto De Nardin, Ph.D., associate professor of oral biology and microbiology, and senior  author on the study. He also noted that the findings present the possibility of  using these measures as a diagnostic tool to identify people at potential risk for heart disease.

Elevated plasma fibrinogen levels are known to be an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease by increasing the propensity for blood clots. In  addition, De Nardin said, there is a relationship between cardiovascular disease and a polymorphism in the gene for fibrinogen.

There also is a relationship between periodontal disease and risk of cardiovascular disease, and some studies have suggested that levels of the clotting factor are elevated in patients with periodontal disease, he noted.

The UB researchers set out to define the possible fibrinogen-periodontal disease-heart disease link by measuring plasma fibrinogen levels in four groups: those with periodontal disease, with heart disease, with both diseases and with  neither. Results showed fibrinogen levels to be significantly higher in persons  who had periodontal disease but no heart disease, compared to all other  groups.

In the second part of the study, 24 participants with periodontal disease and  26 healthy patients were analyzed for the presence of the rare form (H2H2) of the fibrinogen gene. These results showed that 16 percent of the periodontal-disease group had the rare form, compared to none of the healthy participants.

The analysis also found higher levels of fibrinogen in those with the H2H2 gene, and in those with the heterozygous form (H1H2), compared to those with the frequent H1H1 form.

"Elevated fibrinogen levels have been implicated as a risk factor for heart  disease," De Nardin said, "and people with the rare form of the fibrinogen gene  (H2H2) produce higher levels of fibrinogen than subjects with the more-common  gene.

"Since the production of fibrinogen can be stimulated by an infection, people  with the rare gene who also have a chronic infection such as periodontal disease  may produce higher levels of the clotting factor, thus putting themselves at even higher risk for heart disease."

^{SOURCE: University of Buffalo news release, 4/13/00.}