The purpose of this revised application is: 1) to use an in-office, semi- quantitative assay kit to detect elevated levels of IL-1-beta and 2) to quantitate and compare levels of IL-1-beta in crevicular fluids of the normal patient population to those levels found in patients with periodontitis using a standard quantitative ELISA (Cistron). To accomplish this task, crevicular fluid samples will be collected from 20 healthy subjects, 30 subjects with gingivitis and 50 subjects with periodontitis. IL-1-beta levels will be determined simultaneously using a newly developed """"""""dip stick"""""""" kit and verified will a high sensitivity standard ELISA. The simultaneous use of both assays will allow us to refine the sensitivity and limitations for detection of only diseased sites. The """"""""dip stick"""""""" assay takes less than 60 minutes to complete. A positive test (i.e. elevated levels of IL-1-beta) results in a color change visible to the unaided eye which is read against a color-chart for semi- quantitation. This in-office """"""""dip stick"""""""" assay will allow the clinician to determine levels of IL-1-beta thus monitoring the progression of disease or the effectiveness of treatment.
