Ronald S Brown
Howard University, USA
Title: Defining the etiopathophysiology is the key with respect to the mechanism of drug-induced gingival overgrowth (DIGO)
Biography
Biography: Ronald S Brown
Abstract
The disfiguring side-effect of DIGO (drug-induced gingival overgrowth) was first reported in 1939. The mechanism and the development of successful repeatable therapeutic protocols have baffled researchers and clinicians for over 85 years. Recently, a conceptual unifying hypothesis describing the mechanism was developed which has led to the elucidation of the first mechanistic step. The initial query was to determine a commonality between the three very different drug categories (Anti-convulsants, Calcium channel blocking agents and calcineurin inhibitors) which could plug into a defined pathway. The pathway was eventually put together as decreased cation flux leading to decreased cellular folate intake, decreased AP-1, increased TIMP-1; decreased MMP-1 & 2 and decreased collagenase activation. The determination of the pathway has potential even beyond the development of successful therapeutic protocols for DIGO.