Dec. 13, 2008 Scientists at the University of Michigan have
shown that gene therapy can be used to successfully stop the
development of periodontal disease, the leading cause of tooth
loss in adults. Using gene transfer to treat life threatening
conditions is not new, but the U-M group is the first known to
use the gene delivery approach to show potential in treating
chronic conditions such as periodontal disease, said William
Giannobile, professor at the U-M School of Dentistry and
principal investigator on the study. "Gene therapy has not been
used in non-life threatening disease. (Periodontal disease) is
more disabling than life threatening," said Giannobile, who also
directs the Michigan Center for Oral Health Research and has an
appointment in the U-M College of Engineering. "This is so
important because the next wave of improving medical
therapeutics goes beyond saving life, and moves forward to
improving the quality of life." The preclinical study offers was
a collaboration with the Seattle-based biote