Maintenance of new cementum formed during cyclosporin A administration after suspension of the treatment.

ABSTRACT

The aim of the present investigation was to examine if new cementum (NC) formed during cyclosporin A (CsA) administration was maintained after suspension of the treatment. Thirty mg/kg/d of CsA were given to 3 male Sprague-Dawley rats. Three control rats received oil-based vehicle solution. Nine wk later the drug and vehicle administration were stopped and the rats continued to be fed with the same standard laboratory diet and water ad libitum for 5 months. The rats were anaesthetized, the tissues fixed by intracardiac perfusion of fixative solution and the mandibles processed for Epon inclusion. Histological, histomorphometric and ultrastructural analysis revealed that (a) NC covered extensive areas of the root surfaces; its structural characteristics were identical to those observed in the rats killed during CsA administration. (b) collagen fibres of the adjacent connective tissue were functionally inserted into the NC. (c) In the presence of cervical NC spurs the extent of the apical downgrowth of the junctional epithelium, measured parallel to the cemento-dentinal junction, was decreased (up to 64%) compared to the one occurring in areas devoid of NC deposits. These results suggest that (a) NC deposition and its functional relations with the adjacent connective tissue are not reversible after cessation of CsA treatment and (b) in the presence of cervical NC spurs the amount of connective tissue attachment on the root surfaces is increased.