Evaluation of the pre- and post-treatment levels of interleukin-1β (IL-1β) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF- α) in patients with temporomandibular disorders

Abstract

Context: Diagnosis of Temporomandibular disorders (TMDs) have been traditionally based on history, physical examination and imaging with their attendant limitations. Recent advocacy supports using inflammatory markers in blood and saliva as an objective means for early diagnosis, treatment monitoring, and targeted therapy development.

Materials and Methods: This study used a quasi-experimental design to recruit 25 participants using consecutive sampling. Pain scores were obtained from the participants using the Visual Analogue scale after which 5mls of venous blood was collected from antecubital veins. Also, 5mls of unstimulated whole saliva was collected. They were thereafter placed on appropriate treatment and reviewed after 2 weeks. Post-treatment VAS score was obtained, along with blood and saliva samples for the evaluation of the biomarkers. Data obtained were analyzed using the median and inter-quartile ranges, and Spearman’s correlation. The Wilcoxon signed-rank test was used to compare the median pre and post-treatment levels of the biomarkers in both saliva and serum. The p-value was set at < 0.05.

Results: The salivary and the serum IL-1β median (Q3-Q1) level reduced from 963.5 (265.6)pg/ml to 514.6 (515.0)pg/ml (p= 0.011), and from 59.7 (125.1)pg/ml to 53.7 (102.7)pg/ml (p = 0.657) respectively. Also, the salivary and the serum TNF- α median level reduced from 616.9 (194.7)pg/ml to 571.6 (198.4)pg/ml (p = 0.122), and from 83.6 (79.9)pg/ml to 73.2 (80.9)pg/ml (p = 0.638) respectively.

Conclusion: The significant reduction in salivary IL-1β following treatment suggest that it may be a potential biomarker for assessing the effectiveness of therapeutic intervention in TMDs.