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New Possibilities for Topical Anti-inflammatory Agents
As dental practitioners, we are all well aware of the systemic benefits of anti-inflammatory agents. We are also aware of the classic signs of an “aspirin burn” when a patient has ill-advisedly placed an aspirin tablet directly in contact with the gingiva or oral mucosa. However, this contraindication of placing acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) directly on oral tissues may soon be reversed, and ASA may become part of our topical armementarium.
Kathryn Ulrich, Ph.D. at Rutgers University, reported at an annual meeting of the American Chemical Society that a polymerized form of ASA can be utilized successfully to treat tissue inflammation topically. Dr. Ulrich and her colleagues formed a unique polymer of aspirin by linking the molecules into long chains. This allowed the researchers to bind the ASA to fibers that would adhere to living tissues and provide an anti-inflammatory effect in a very localized area, without systemic introduction.
This concept of localized anti-inflammatory drug delivery may have broad implications for both medical and dental therapies. Among the applications conceptualized are ASA-coated sutures, prosthetic joint implants, cardiac stents, and periodontal dressings. Of great interest to dental professionals is the actual in vivo study methodology employed by the Rutgers University team.
Dr. Ulrich and her colleagues applied post-surgical dressing fibers to experimentally injured periodontal tissues in laboratory rats. Rats treated post-injury with ASA-coated fibers demonstrated 37 percent more osseous regrowth at the treatment site than rats treated with non-coated fibers. Hopefully, these results will be repeatable in human studies and provide yet another post-surgical adjunct to improve periodontal surgical outcomes.
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