Researchers have shown that Resolvin E1 which is a molecule naturally produced in the body from an omega 3 fish oil, prevents and treats gum disease and decreases the likelihood for advanced arterial atherosclerotic plaques to rupture and form a thrombus or blood clot. Inflammation occurs with atherosclerosis and may play a role in the development of heart attacks and stroke. There is evidence from research groups that chronic inflammatory diseases such as diabetes, colitis, heart disease, Alzheimer’s disease, rheumatoid arthritis, kidney and pulmonary diseases, and cancer can benefit from the use of the pro-resolving lipid mediators such as resolvins and lipoxins.
Researchers from Boston University and The Forsyth Institute used two groups of an experimental model that possessed highly inflamed advanced atherosclerosis. The first group was treated with a solution applied on gum tissues that contained an inflammation-lowering lipid mediator Resolvin E1. The second group was treated with salt water as a control. The group treated with Resolvin E1 had minimal atherosclerosis and reduced plaque rupture in their aortic artery. In the control group that received salt water atherosclerosis advanced to a more severe form of the disease.
Current approaches to treat advanced atherosclerosis are not very effective and carry high risks. The researchers hope that the Resolvin E1 therapy could provide an effective and safe treatment that can be taken daily, and could also serve as a preventive approach for plaque inflammation and other events such as heart attack and stroke. The researchers believe these findings support a shift in the treatment of both localized and systematic inflammatory conditions that are becoming more common in obesity and type 2 diabetes. The researchers hope their work could lead to effective preventive and therapeutic treatments in people with heart disease and/or gum disease without having any side effects.
For other approaches to help prevent gum disease see for example http://blog.teethremoval.com/estrogen-therapy-can-help-reduce-gum-disease/ and http://blog.teethremoval.com/how-to-prevent-gum-disease-and-cavities/.
Reference: James A. Hamilton and et al., Atherosclerosis, Periodontal Disease, and Treatment with Resolvins. Current Atherosclerosis Reports, vol. 19, issue 12, 2017.