Interleukin, U-M School of Dentistry complete enrollment in PST Genetic Test study

The University of Michigan School of Dentistry and Interleukin Genetics, Inc. (OTCQB: ILIU) announced today the completion of patient enrollment for a landmark clinical study using Interleukin's PST^® Genetic Test to determine if dental patients can be risk-stratified to guide frequency of preventive dental visits and reduce the adverse outcomes of periodontal disease progression, such as tooth loss.    

The study, led by William Giannobile, D.D.S., D.Med.Sc., Director of the Michigan Center for Oral Health Research and Chairman of the Department of Periodontics and Oral Medicine at the University of Michigan School of Dentistry, enrolled approximately 5,400 consenting adults. Patients were identified through a large dental claims database with more than 15 consecutive years of documented oral health history. Participants provided a DNA sample and information on other risk factors to allow them to be classified as either low-risk or high-risk for periodontitis progression. Risk classification will be used to assess the frequency of preventive visits that is consistent with maintenance of periodontal health. The study is funded by Renaissance Health Service Corporation, a nonprofit organization focused on the advancement of oral health.

The PST Genetic Test identifies individuals with increased risk for severe and progressive periodontal disease and significant tooth loss based on a proprietary panel of genetic variations that predispose an individual to over-express inflammation.

"For more than 30 years, adult patients have been advised to visit the dentist every six months for an examination and cleaning. However, there appears to be little evidence supporting the frequency of prevention visits in adults, and a recent systematic review concluded that there is insufficient evidence to either support or refute the six month interval for preventive dental visits for adults," said Dr. Giannobile. "If the clinical outcomes for low-risk patients are not adversely affected by one cleaning per year, it may be possible to move towards more personalized preventive measures for the management of periodontal disease in low-risk individuals, while encouraging more preventive care in high-risk patients."

"This novel clinical study is applying the principles of personalized medicine to determine if preventive care may be more effectively applied to reduce the complications of severe periodontal disease," said Kenneth Kornman, D.D.S., Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer of Interleukin Genetics. "Multiple longitudinal clinical studies have shown that after adjusting for past history of disease, two risk factors - smoking and specific Interleukin-1 genetic variations - were the major determinants of tooth loss in treated patients. We are hopeful that this study will determine if the frequency of dental preventive visits influences periodontal disease outcomes in patients with different risk profiles as a dental application of personalized medicine."