Statins Linked to Lower Gum Inflammation in Heart Disease Patients

A new study suggests that high doses of the cholesterol-lowering statin help in reducing gum inflammation in people suffering from heart disease.

The study reported in the Journal of American College of Cardiology suggests that statins reduces inflammation associated with gum disease. Steps taken to lower inflammation may also reduce inflammation in arteries and vice-a-versa.

"Periodontal disease is characterized by chronic gum inflammation and affects approximately 50 percent of the U.S. adult population," Ahmed Tawkol, MD, co-director of the Cardiac Imaging Trials Program at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School and co-author of the study, said in a statement. "Periodontitis and atherosclerosis are both primarily driven by inflammation. These inflammatory conditions tend to co-exist within individuals and their biologies may be intertwined."

The study included people with heart disease or those who were at a high risk of heart disease. They were randomly given either 80 mg statin or a 10 mg statin daily for nearly 12 weeks. After four days of assigning the patients to different doses of the drug, the researchers conducted PET/CT scans. The same was repeated after 12 weeks of test. Later they compared this data with the scans conducted before the treatment.

The 59 patients included in the final analysis displayed a significant drop in gum inflammation after four weeks of initiating the treatment of high dose of statin. The researchers were surprised to note that the improvement in the gum inflammation also led to the improvement in atherosclerotic disease.

Through this study, the researchers highlight a strong association between periodontal disease (gum disease) and artherosclerosis (thickening of artery wall due to accumulation of fatty materials). The treatment aimed at reducing inflammation may eventually offer improvement in the other condition as well.

According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly 47.2 percent of Americans of age 30 years and older suffer from periodontal disease and this increases with age and is more common among men than woman ( 56.4 percent men and 38.4 percent women).

The improved oral hygiene to lower inflammation of the gums may lead to a lower inflammation of arteries.

Tawakol concluded saying, "Statins have beneficial effects beyond their lipid lowering properties. Physicians should take this into consideration when discussing antihyperlipidemic treatment options with their patients."