Thinking about doing crossword puzzles to keep
your mind sharp?
Forget it. Scientists are now saying that
keeping your mouth clean could help stave off Alzheimer’s disease (AD).
According to Science Advances, researchers
from University of Louisville found strong evidence that Porphyromonas gingivalis — a species of oral bacteria that causes
chronic gum disease — may also be involved in driving the development of AD.
The possibility of an infectious cause for AD
isn’t new. Because the brains of patients with AD exhibit symptoms of
inflammation that is often seen in infections, scientists have suspected for
some time that infectious agents could be involved somehow.
However, it wasn’t until now that researchers
were able to find evidence that something like bacteria could cause AD.
In the study, the scientists compared the
brains and spinal fluids of deceased people who had characteristic pathology of
AD but no diagnosis (control group) to those who had a clinical diagnosis.
In the AD brains and spinal fluids, the
researchers found P. gingivalis DNA
as well as higher levels of toxic enzymes called gingipains compared to the
control group. Gingipains are produced by P.
gingivalis and work to suppress the host’s defense system, thereby helping
the infection to spread and damage surrounding cells.
The team also found strong relationships
between levels of gingipains and two other molecules: tau, a protein important
for normal brain function, and ubiquitin, a small protein that tags damaged
proteins for degradation. Both have been linked to AD.
Previous studies had found links between P. gingivalis and AD, but scientists
weren’t sure if the gum disease was just a consequence of the disease. However,
with this finding, they realized that the infection is an early-stage event,
and believe that if the people in the control group had lived longer to allow
for the gingipains to accumulate, they also would have developed AD.
The researchers then infected the mouths of
otherwise healthy mice with P. gingivalis
every other day for 6 weeks. They found that the bacteria not only invaded the
brains of all the mice, but also caused a significant increase in the levels of
amyloid beta, a component of the amyloid plaques found in brains of patients
with AD and killed certain nerve cells.
Since P.
gingivalis is resistant to most antibiotics, the team wanted to test the
effects of compounds that target gingipains instead. In the mice that received
the treatments, they noticed that the compounds killed off much of the bacteria
and had protective effects on neurons in the memory region of the brain, which
is primarily affected by AD.
It is important to remember that while the
research results are certainly exciting, they do not show that a P. gingivalis infection causes AD. Diseases like AD are
extremely complex and can have many different causes. This research shows that P. gingivalis may just increase the risk
of AD.
The researchers also didn’t determine the
strains of P. gingivalis they found
in the brain and spinal fluid. More research would be needed to determine if
certain strains are more likely to cause AD.
What Can You Do?
P.
gingivalis can also be found in low levels in healthy
people, who can get it from common activities such as brushing, flossing, and
getting dental procedures.
However, we believe there is one important
thing you can do to reduce your risk of an infection, and that is to clean your
tongue.
Your tongue is the habitat of a large variety
of plaque-forming and disease-causing microorganisms, including P. gingivalis.
Research has shown that the most effective way
to clean your tongue is to use a tongue scraper. When used over time, tongue
scraping can reduce the number of bacteria on your tongue, leading not only to
better breath, but also possibly reducing your risk of AD.
So what are you waiting for? Grab your tongue
scraper today from ScrapeYourTongue.com.
Your future self will thank you.