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A drug used to treat intestinal worms may have a new purpose.
Recent studies have shown that Oxantel could protect people from periodontitis. The information appears in Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy.
The current treatment for periodontitis can be costly and it isn’t necessarily full proof. Oxantel was shown to prevent growth by blocking an enzyme that bacteria need to create the biofilm associated with periodontitis.
The researchers of this study wanted to discover something that would inhibit periodontitis unlike any treatment on the market. Their research determined that the periodontal biofilm depended on iron and heme and that limiting these would lower the level of the enzyme fumarate reductase. The test managed to thwart the enzyme in Porphyromonas gingivalis, something heavily involved with the biofilm.
Oxantel was also proven to be effective against various combinations of bacteria.
Periodontitis impacts roughly 30 to 47 percent of the adult population and about 5 to 10 percent experience extremely severe cases of periodontitis. This disease makes people more susceptible to arthritis, dementia, diabetes, heart disease, stroke and numerous other ailments. Periodontitis may also lead to a higher risk of cancer in the head and mouth, in addition to the neck and esophagus.
