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Alzheimer’s disease, long seen as a disorder of the aging brain, may actually begin in an unexpected place: the mouth.Researchers reported evidence that a bacterium commonly associated with chronic gum disease could play a direct role in the development of Alzheimer’s. The study, published in Science Advances, details how Porphyromonas gingivalis, the pathogen behind periodontitis, was detected in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients. The findings come from an international team of scientists that included Jan Potempa, a microbiologist at the University of Louisville. Potempa said the research offers some of the strongest evidence yet linking gum infection to Alzheimer’s pathology,...

Periodontitis, an inflammation of the structures supporting the teeth, significantly increases the risk of stroke in people under 50 years of age who do not have any known predisposing causes. A study indicates that the more the inflammation had progressed in the mouth, the more serious the stroke. In the focus were individuals who had a stroke between the ages of 20 and 50. The study found that periodontitis was significantly more common among stroke patients. Not only did periodontitis increase the risk of stroke, its severity affected that of the stroke too. According to the study, dental procedures carried...

Periodontitis is an inflammatory gum disease driven by bacterial infection and left untreated it can lead to complications including tooth loss. The disease has also been associated with diabetes mellitus, preterm birth, cardiovascular disease, rheumatoid arthritis and cancer. One of the chief bacterial culprits behind periodontitis is Porphyromonas gingivalis, which colonizes biofilms on tooth surfaces and proliferates in deep periodontal pockets. Matcha, a finely ground green tea powder, may help keep P. gingivalis at bay. Researchers in Japan report that matcha inhibited the growth of P. gingivalis in lab experiments. In addition, in a clinical study involving 45 people with...

Researchers have identified a novel macrolide–DEL-1 axis that helps in bone regeneration and new bone formation. This finding may lead to the development of therapeutic agents to treat bone loss disorders. Periodontitis is a serious gum infection that damages the soft tissue and destroys the bone that supports teeth. It is usually the result of poor oral hygiene that leads to bacterial infections. Aging may increase susceptibility to periodontitis by altering immune and regenerative functions. Development endothelial locus-1 (DEL-1), crucial for inflammation resolution and tissue repair, declines with age. The low levels of DEL-1 protein also affect bone regeneration and...

Periodontitis, a gum disease, can lead to a litany of dental issues from bad breath to bleeding and lost teeth. Now, researchers have found that it could be connected to even more severe problems elsewhere in the body—the heart. The team found a significant correlation between periodontitis and fibrosis (which is scarring to an appendage of the heart's left atrium that can lead to an irregular heartbeat called atrial fibrillation) in a sample of 76 patients with cardiac disease. "Periodontitis is associated with a long-standing inflammation, and inflammation plays a key role in atrial fibrosis progression and atrial fibrillation pathogenesis,"...

Research shows that common chronic diseases and problems associated with oral health have a detrimental and long-term reciprocal effect on each other. The predictive value of oral health for the onset of various chronic diseases was investigated through a 10-year follow-up. A key finding was that periodontitis (a disease of the connective tissue of teeth) has a particular link with diabetes. "We know from prior studies that periodontitis has a connection to many chronic diseases. Thanks to our exceptionally long-term dataset, we were able to analyze causalities and bidirectional effects between these factors," says Pia Heikkilä. The results of the...

Sci. Signal., 16 February 2010 Vol. 3, Issue 109, p. pc4 [DOI: 10.1126/scisignal.3109pc4] PODCASTS Science Signaling Podcast: 16 February 2010 George Hajishengallis1, 2 and Annalisa M. VanHook3 1 University of Louisville School of Medicine, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Louisville, KY 40292, USA.2 University of Louisville School of Dentistry, Oral Health and Systemic Disease, Louisville, KY 40292, USA.3 Associate Online Editor of Science Signaling, American Association for the Advancement of Science, 1200 New York Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC 20005, USA. Abstract: This is a conversation with George Hajishengallis about a Research Article published in the 16 February 2010 issue of...