Abstract: PURPOSE: To investigate the expression of secreted frizzle-related protein 1 (SFRP1) and macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) in elderly patients with severe periodontitis and its correlation with cognitive function. METHODS: Thirty-two elderly patients with periodontitis in Qingdao Stomatological Hospital from February 2018 to February 2019 were enrolled, and divided into two groups according to the severity: mild group and severe group. All selected subjects received periodontal examination and Montreal cognitive assessment (MoCA).The expression of SFRP1 and MIF in serum was also determined. Then the correlations among SFRP1 and MIF periodontal index and cognitive function was analyzed. The data were processed by SPSS 20.0 software package. RESULTS: The probing depth (PD), clinical attachment level (CAL), sulcus bleeding index (SBI) and gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) showed significant difference between the two groups (P<; 0.05). The serum levels of SFRP1 and MIF in the severe group were significantly higher than those in the mild group (P<; 0.05). Serum SFRP1 level was positively correlated with MIF (P<; 0.05). Serum SFRP1 and MIF levels were positively correlated with periodontal index (P<; 0.05). The MoCA score of the severe group was significantly lower than that of the mild group (P<; 0.05). Serum SFRP1 and MIF levels were negatively correlated with MoCA score (P<; 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: SFRP1 and MIF are highly expressed in serum and gingival tissues of elderly patients with severe periodontitis, and are closely related to the degree of periodontal damage. Meanwhile, patients with periodontitis may have some degree of cognitive dysfunction, and SFRP1 and MIF may affect the periodontal tissue structure through Wnt/β-catenin signal pathway and participate in the occurrence and development of cognitive dysfunction.

Key words: SFRP1, MIF, Severe periodontitis, Cognitive function, Correlation