Effect of platelet-rich plasma in the treatment of periodontal intrabony defects in humans

Background Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) is a kind of natural source of autologous growth factors, and has been used successfully in medical community. However, the effect of PRP in periodontal regeneration is not clear yet. This study was designed to evaluate the effectiveness of PRP as an adjunct to bovine porous bone mineral (BPBM) graft in the treatment of human intrabony defects. Methods Seventeen intrabony defects in 10 periodontitis patients were randon-fly treated either with PRP and BPBM (test group, n=9) or with BPBM alone (control group, n=8). Clinical parameters were evaluated including changes in probing depth, relative attachment level (measured by Florida Probe and a stent), and bone probing level between baseline and 1 year postoperatively. Standardized periapical radiographs of each defect were taken at baseline, 2 weeks, and 1 year postoperatively, and analyzed by digital subtraction radiography (DSR). Results Both treatment modalities resulted in significant attachment gain, reduction of probing depth, and bone probing level at 1-year post-surgery compared to baseline. The test group exhibited statistically significant improvement compared to the control sites in probing depth reduction: (4.78 +/- 0.95) mm versus (3.48 +/- 0.41) mm. (P < 0.01); clinical attachment gain: (4.52 +/- 1.14) mm versus (2.85 +/- 0.80) mm (P < 0.01); bone probing reduction: (4.56 +/- 1.04) mm versus (2.88 +/- 0.79) mm (P < 0.01); and defect bone fill: (73.41 +/- 14.78)% versus (47.32 +/- 11.47)% (P < 0.01). DSR analysis of baseline and 1 year postoperatively also showed greater radiographic gains in alveolar bone mass in the test group than in the control group: gray increase (580 +/- 50) grays versus (220 +/- 32) grays (P=0.0001); area with increased gray were (5.21 +/- 1.25) mm(2) versus (3.02 +/- 1.22) mm(2) (P=0.0001). Conclusions The treatment with a combination of PRP and BPBM led to a significantly favorable clinical improvement in periodontal intrabony defects compared to using BPBM alone. Further studies are necessary to assess the long-term effectiveness of PRP, and a larger sample size is needed.