Inhibition of acid sphingomyelinase by imipramine abolishes the synergy between metabolic syndrome and periodontitis on alveolar bone loss.

This study has shown that imipramine as an inhibitor of aSMase abolishes the synergy between MetS and periodontitis on alveolar bone loss in animal model and inhibits pro-inflammatory and pro-osteoclastogenic gene expression in macrophages in vitro. This study provides the first evidence that aSMase is a potential therapeutic target for MetS-exacerbated periodontitis.