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Gene Therapy for Periodontal Disease

December 16th, 2008 · No Comments

While gum disease isn’t life threatening, it can increase risk factors for life-threatening conditions, such as heart attack, stroke, diabetes complications, and bacterial pneumonia. It’s also a contributing factor to the development of Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. As you well know, gum disease is responsible for most adult tooth loss. To this point, gene therapy has not been used to treat non life-threatening diseases, but scientists at the University of Michigan have found that gene therapy can stop periodontal disease. The same gene therapy has shown positive results for patients with rheumatoid arthritis, as well. More testing is in the works. Read the full article at Medical News Today. Listen to William Giannobile’s podcast on the topic here.

Tags: Clinical