Effect of initial treatment of chronic inflammatory periodontal disease in adults on spontaneous peripheral blood lymphocyte proliferation.

Abstract The spontaneous proliferative response (SPR) of peripheral blood lymphocytes, as a measure of the autologous mixed lymphocyte reaction (AMLR), has been found to be depressed in adults with chronic inflammatory periodontal disease (CIPD). The aim of the present study was to test the hypothesis that initial treatment of CIPD in adults restores the SPR to normal levels. 10 periodontal disease subjects (mean probing attachment loss of 4.2 mm and a mean bleeding index of 0.65) and 10 age‐ and sex‐matched healthy control subjects were studied. The SPR for each patient was evaluated on days 3, 5, 7, 9 and 11 in culture, before and after initial treatment for CIPD. The peak SPR, which occurred at day 5, was depressed in the untreated periodontal disease subjects compared to the healthy control subjects (