Alzheimer’s disease: BLEEDING gums sign of FASTER decline

Periodontitis – also known as gum disease – is the inflammation of the gums and deeper structures, which can eventually lead to tooth loss.

One in ten people worldwide are affected, but it’s particularly common in people who are older.

It’s also a regular occurrence in those with Alzheimer’s disease, thought to be because of their reduced ability to keep up with their oral hygiene as the disease progresses.

However, a study by the University of Southampton and King’s College London has now linked poor gum health to increased dementia severity and greater progression of cognitive decline in people with early stage Alzheimer’s.

Having gum disease causes higher levels of antibodies to periodontal bacteria, which in turn they linked to an increase in inflammatory molecules elsewhere in the body.

Indeed, they found the presence of gum disease was associated with a six-fold increase in the rate of cognitive decline in participants over a period of six months.

The growing evidence of the connection between the body’s inflammatory responses and increased rates of cognitive suggest that in the future the treatment of gum disease could also benefit treatment of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. 

There are 850,000 people in UK with dementia, and 62 per cent of those have Alzheimer’s disease.

Professor Clive Holmes, senior author from the University of Southampton, said: “These are very interesting results which build on previous work we have done that shows that chronic inflammatory conditions have a detrimental effect on disease progression in people with Alzheimer’s disease. 

“Our study was small and lasted for six months so further trials need to be carried out to develop these results. 

“However, if there is a direct relationship between periodontitis and cognitive decline, as this current study suggests, then treatment of gum disease might be a possible treatment option for Alzheimer’s.”

The authors of the study, published in the journal PLOS ONE, said in the UK around 80 per cent of adults over 55 had evidence of gum disease, while 40 per cent of adults aged over 65 to 74 had fewer than 21 of their original 32 teeth.

Dr Mark Ide, first author from the Dental Institute at King’s College London said: “A number of studies have shown that having few teeth, possibly as a consequence of earlier gum disease, is associated with a greater risk of developing dementia. 

“We also believe, based on various research findings, that the presence of teeth with active gum disease results in higher body-wide levels of the sorts of inflammatory molecules which have also been associated with an elevated risk of other outcomes such as cognitive decline or cardiovascular disease. 

“Research has suggested that effective gum treatment can reduce the levels of these molecules closer to that seen in a healthy state.

“Previous studies have also shown that patients with Alzheimer’s Disease have poorer dental health than others of similar age and that the more severe the dementia the worse the dental health, most likely reflecting greater difficulties with taking care of oneself as dementia becomes more severe.”

Sign of periodontal disease include bleeding gums when you brush your teeth or eat, bad breath and changes in the position of teeth in the jaw.

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Martin is an enthusiastic programmer, a webdeveloper and a young entrepreneur. He is intereted into computers for a long time. In the age of 10 he has programmed his first website and since then he has been working on web technologies until now. He is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of BriefNews.eu and PCHealthBoost.info Online Magazines. His colleagues appreciate him as a passionate workhorse, a fan of new technologies, an eternal optimist and a dreamer, but especially the soul of the team for whom he can do anything in the world.

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