Rev. Med. Chir. Soc. Med. Nat., Ia şi – 2015 – vol. 119, no. 3 DENTAL MEDICINE ORIGINAL PAPERS 896 SYSTEMIC AND PERIODONTAL INFLAMMATORY BURDEN IN CHILDREN AND TEENAGERS WITH DIABETES, AND CLINICAL CORRELATIONS D.P. Cioloca 1 , Irina Ursărescu 2 , Alexandra Mârţu 1 , Vasilica Toma 1 , Amelia Surdu 3 , Gina Botnariu 4* , Maria Bogdan 6 , Irina Draga Căruntu 5 University of Medicine and Pharmacy “Grigore T. Popa” - Iaşi Faculty of Dental Medicine 1. Department of Surgery 2. Department of Odontology-Periodontology 3. Department of Implantology, Restoration and Technology Faculty of Medicine 4. Department of Medical Sciences 5. Department of Morphofunctional Sciences University of Medicine and Pharmacy Craiova 6. Faculty of Pharmacy *Corresponding author. E-mail: gina_botnariu@yahoo.com SYSTEMIC AND PERIODONTAL INFLAMMATORY BURDEN IN CHILDREN AND TEENAGERS WITH DIABETES, AND CLINICAL CORRELATIONS (Abstract ) Type 1 diabetes (T1D) remains an eminent global burden, emerging from the impairment of healthy tissues due to an imbalance in the immune system. There is a bidirectional interrelationship between diabetes and periodontal disease (PD), managed through a number of pathways, in- volving mainly cytokine up- and down regulation. Objective. The present study was de- signed to investigate the possible role of serum and gingival fluid (GCF) levels of interleu- kin 2 (IL-2) and interferon gamma (IFN-γ) in young patients with systemic alteration in the context of T1D and periodontal injury, and determine its correlation with clinical parameters of the periodontal status. Material and methods. Serum and GCF levels of IFN-γ and IL-2 were investigated in 42 patients with T1D with or without periodontal alteration, and 24 sys- temically healthy controls. Periodontal parameters used in this study were clinical attach- ment level and papillary bleeding index. GCF was collected using paper strips, while flow cytometric assay was performed to determine the total amount of cytokines. Results. The current results revealed that median GCF and serum level of IFN-γ were significantly higher in patients than in systemically healthy controls (p<0.001), whereas regarding serum IL-2 levels no significant differences could be noticed (p>0.05). Correlation between local and se- rum cytokines and clinical periodontal parameters revealed significant positive correlation between GCF and serum IFN-γ levels. No association between serum IL-2 levels and clinical parameters of periodontitis was found. Conclusion: IFN-γ levels in serum and GCF display a good correlation with clinical parameters and degree of periodontal abuse in young T1D subjects. Keywords: TYPE ONE DIABETES, CHILDREN, PERIODONTAL DISEASE The bidirectional interrelationships be- tween periodontal disease (PD) and type one diabetes (T1D) provide an example of systemic disease predisposing to oral infec-