Evaluation of vascular endothelial growth factor levels in periodontal tissues of patients suffering from periodontitis and/or diabetes mellitus: An immunohistochemical study

Background and Objectives: Pathogenesis of periodontal diseases over the years has been a subject of discussion in the field of periodontology. Search is on for novel biomarkers that designate the presence or absence of the disease. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is one such marker investigated recently which has been seen to increase both in periodontitis and diabetes. Hence, this study was under taken to evaluate and compare the VEGF levels in periodontal tissues of patients having either periodontitis or diabetes mellitus (DM) with those having both. Materials and Methods: The study group was divided into the four groups of 25 patients in each group. Group A were patients having healthy periodontium and without any systemic diseases. Group B were patients having periodontitis without any systemic diseases. Group C were patients having both periodontitis and DM. Group D were patients having only DM without any periodontitis. The VEGF levels were graded into three grades of 0, 1 and 2. They were evaluated through immunohistochemistry in tissue samples obtained from all the groups. Results: Healthy patients generally had Grade 0 level whereas patients having only periodontitis or only DM had primarily Grade 1. Most of the patients having both periodontitis and diabetes had Grade 2 level of VEGF. Conclusion: The outcome of this cross-sectional study to assess the relationship between periodontitis, diabetes and VEGF levels is declarative toward a positive correlation between periodontitis, diabetes and increase in the VEGF levels.