Background: Since it has been found that reactive oxygen species seem to be involved in the pathogenesis of both periodontitis and hyperkeratotic syndromes, we studied a group of patients belonging to 3 generations of a family with different degrees of severity of Papillon-Lefèvre syndrome (PLS) to ascertain whether altered concentrations of the most important hydrophobic and hydrophilic plasma antioxidants as well as products of oxidative damage are present in PLS.
Methods: Coenzyme Q (CoQ), vitamin E, glutathione (GSH), and uric acid were evaluated by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) (supplied with electrochemical detector) techniques and hydroperoxides by a spectrophotometric method.
Results: GSH and uric acid were in the range of reference values; CoQ was very low in both the child of the third generation and his mother, and these 2 subjects had the highest hydroperoxide levels. The child also had extremely low values of vitamin E. In general, all family members showed abnormally high hydroperoxide levels, with the exception of those members who are phenotypically healthy.
Conclusions: Since the subjects with the lowest hydroperoxide contents are phenotypically healthy, whereas the affected individuals presented lower antioxidant levels and very high hydroperoxide concentrations, it has been suggested that a specific antioxidant therapy could be a promising approach in treating some PLS subjects. Moreover, unexpected manifestations of heterozygosity in the child of the third generation were also detected.