Detection and Quantification of Porphyromonas gingivalis from Saliva of Schizophrenia Patients by Culture and Taqman Real-Time PCR: A Pilot Study

P. gingivalis is a periodontopathogen implicated in a number of systemic diseases, particularly cardiovascular disease. Little, if any, is known about the prevalence and quantity of this organism in the mouth of patients with schizophrenia who are, nevertheless, known to have poor oral health and die early from cardiovascular disease. Aim: to estimate the prevalence and quantity of P. gingivalis in saliva of schizophrenia patients compared to non-psychiatric controls and to correlate the quantity of P. gingivalis with the severity of psychopathology of schizophrenia. Materials and methods: Thirty five consecutive attendees of the out-patients clinic of a psychiatric Hospital in Jeddah, with a diagnosis of schizophrenia, were assessed by the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) and compared with 35 non-psychiatric controls, in terms of the prevalence and quantity of P. gingivalis in their saliva. For this purpose, anaerobic culture and real-time PCR with TaqMan probe were used. Results: Real-time PCR results were matching those obtained with anaerobic culture in 95.7\% of cases. Using Real-time PCR, P. gingivalis was detected in 25 patients (78\%) and 6 controls (17\%) (p=0.000). The P. gingivalis median (range) number of copies in salivary samples of patients and controls were 5.3x10(7) (0- 2.73(10)) and 1.91x10(5) (0- 6.81(7)), respectively (p=0.009). Also, the P. gingivalis levels were significantly positively correlated with the scores on all the PANSS scales. Conclusion: real-time PCR, in confirmation of the results of quantitative culture, demonstrated (a) significantly higher prevalence and quantity of P. gingivalis in saliva of schizophrenia patients compared to non-psychiatric controls and (b) positive correlation between quantity of P. gingivalis cells and severity of psychopathology of schizophrenia. Hopefully, the results of this pilot study will encourage further research into the relationships between oral microbiota and schizophrenia. Real-time PCR is a promising tool in this area. Hopefully too, some preventive dental programs will become an integral part of psychiatric management to meet the need of this vulnerable group of population. {[}Maggie M. Fawzi, Mounir M. Fawzi, Hany M. El-Amin, Mahmoud H. Elafandy. Detection and Quantification of Porphyromonas gingivalis from Saliva of Schizophrenia Patients by Culture and Taqman Real-Time PCR: A Pilot Study. Life Science Journal. 2011;8(2):65-74] (ISSN:1097-8135). http://www.lifesciencesite.com.