| Popis: |
Smoking can be considered a risk factor for Chronic Apical Periodontitis (CAP). This study compared the immunoexpression of biomarkers RANKL, OPG, OPN and TNF- α in CAP in smokers and non-smokers.Twelve smokers (S) and twelve non-smokers (NS) diagnosed with CAP and indicated for extraction were selected. Exclusion factors were teeth with a diagnosis of root fracture, previous endodontic treatment and endoperiodontal injury, in addition to individuals with systemic diseases, under 18 years of age, users of anti-inflammatory and/or antibiotics in the last three months and drug users. Specimens were processed for histopathologic and immunohistochemical analysis.The qualitative analysis of RANKL expression showed 66.66% weak/moderate and 33.33% strong in S and 100% weak/moderate in the NS. OPG and OPN expressions were 100% negative to focal in the S group and 50% negative to focal, 50% weak/moderate in the NS. TNF- α was 25% negative to focal and 75% weak/moderate in the S and 33.33% negative to focal and 66.66% weak/moderate in the NS. The quantitative analysis of the data by the Mann-Whitney test, showed that was a significant difference in the immunoexpression of RANKL (p0.05), OPG (p0.05) and OPN (p0.05) but there was no statistical difference in the immunoexpression of TNF- α (p0.05) between the two groups.These findings suggest that smoking is capable of altering the inflammatory response, influencing the evolution of CAP. |
