Alzheimer’s Disease and Gum Disease: A Possible Connection
Alzheimer’s disease is the leading cause of dementia worldwide, accounting for about 70% of dementia cases. It leads to memory loss, cognitive decline, and changes in the brain, including beta-amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles.
While Alzheimer’s is known as a disease, newer research suggests that an infection may be involved at the root of the problem. Researchers are still trying to identify the exact cause, but gum disease has become one of the most discussed possibilities.
What May Be Causing It?
One of the strongest theories points to gum disease, also known as chronic periodontitis. A 2019 study found Porphyromonas gingivalis in the brains of people with Alzheimer’s disease. This bacterium is considered a major pathogen in gum disease.
These findings suggest that gum disease may play an underlying role in Alzheimer’s disease. This idea is not entirely new. In 2010, another study found that older men with tooth loss had a higher risk of cognitive decline. In that study, tooth loss was linked to periodontal disease and caries.
Research in mice has also added to this theory. Oral infection with P. gingivalis led to colonization of the brain and was seen alongside the production of beta-amyloid plaques.
Why Researchers Find This Important
More research is still needed before this hypothesis can be proven, but the results so far are compelling.
Researchers also found gingipains in both Alzheimer’s patients and in non-Alzheimer’s patients who had markers of the disease. Gingipains are toxic enzymes released by the bacteria in the brain.
This is important because it suggests that the presence of P. gingivalis may not simply be the result of poor dental care caused by dementia. Instead, it raises the possibility that these individuals may have gone on to develop Alzheimer’s later in life.
Altogether, this strengthens the theory that bacteria linked to gum disease could be involved in Alzheimer’s disease.
What This Could Mean Going Forward
If this connection continues to hold up, reducing gum disease may help lower the incidence of Alzheimer’s disease.
In one mouse experiment, a compound called COR388 was used to reduce the bacterial load from P. gingivalis infection. It also reduced beta-amyloid plaque production in the brain. Even so, more research is still needed.
We are still far from confirming a new treatment for Alzheimer’s disease, but studies like these may bring us closer to reducing how often this illness occurs.
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