Alzheimer's & Dementia: New Study Offers Another Good Reason To Maintain Good Oral Hygiene
A recent study found a link between gum disease and dementia. The team compared different age groups at baseline, with up to 26 years of follow-up, for more than 6,000 participants.
Researchers studying the cause of Alzheimer's Disease have identified the amyloid and tau proteins that actually accumulate in the brain.
ButDr. Diana Kerwin, a geriatric medicine specialist with Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital said they still haven't been able to determine what sets off that cascade and starts the accumulation in the brain tissue.
“And so looking at something like an infectious etiologyis actually something that's been going on for about 10 years, but really in the background,” said Kerwin. “And it hasn't been until the last two to three years when there's actually been an identification of a certain protein called gingipains associated to periodontal disease. And it does have a link to the amyloid protein that accumulates in the brain.”
About The Study
- This started in Down syndrome patients. They noticed patients with poor periodontal health had increased risk of Alzheimer's, and there’s an increased risk with Down syndrome. So someone started to look at that a little bit more closely.
- Then periodontal health was looked at in more observational studies in geriatric patients or older patients because they are at increased risk of Alzheimer's. They did start to notice that when you looked at patients that had periodontal disease or issues with periodontal disease, there was an increased risk of Alzheimer's as well.
Did Gum Disease Occur Before Or After Dementia?
That's important because the periodontal disease isn’t occurring after the patient has developed memory loss and dementia, and maybe isn’t doing as good of a job or able to keep up with personal care, like personal hygiene, because of the memory loss or dementia. This is occurring before. So we do think it's part of more of the causative rather than effect of the disease itself.
Is Gum Disease Common Among Older Adults?
- Gum disease is common among several age groups. It does become more challenging for older patients depending on whether they had access to good dental care, and whether they’ve been able to keep up with maintaining their teeth.
- Also, many older patients are on medication that cause dry mouth that can worsen the health of the gums and the tissues in the mouth.
- But I do think that this is something that is likely occurring in patients while they still do have the ability to keep up their oral hygiene. It's just, we haven't been able to tell people how important this is.
A Need For Further Study?
- There's some early evidence that it looks like there is a direct cause between periodontal disease and Alzheimer's, but it's early and it's being looked at.
- I think we can definitely, at this point, say that poor gum health or periodontal disease will increase the risk of the development of Alzheimer's as time goes on, especially if it's not addressed with good teeth cleaning and healthy gums.
- It’s definitely a risk factor. When you look at how do I keep my brain healthy, part of it also is likely maintaining good general health. And part of that is your gums and your oral hygiene as well.
Interview highlights were lighted edited for clarity.
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Alzheimer's & Dementia: Utafiti Mpya Unatoa Sababu Nyingine Nzuri ya Kudumisha Usafi Mzuri wa Mdomo Utafiti wa hivi karibuni uligundua uhusiano kati ya ugonjwa wa taya na dementia. Timu hiyo ililinganisha makundi tofauti ya umri katika hatua ya msingi, na hadi miaka 26 ya kufuatilia, kwa zaidi ya washiriki 6,000. Watafiti wanaochunguza sababu ya ugonjwa wa Alzheimer wamegundua kwamba protini za amyloid na tau hujipanga kwenye ubongo. Lakini Dakt. Diana Kerwin, mtaalamu wa tiba ya wazee katika hospitali ya Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital, alisema bado hawajaweza kuamua ni nini kinachoweka na kuanza mkusanyiko katika tishu za ubongo. "Kama vile ilivyoelezwa hapo juu, ""Uchunguzi wa etiolojia ya maambukizi ni kitu ambacho kimekuwa kikifanyika kwa miaka kumi hivi, lakini kwa kweli ni nyuma ya mambo,"" alisema Kerwin." "Hata hivyo, kwa miaka miwili au mitatu iliyopita, utafiti umeonyesha kwamba ""ginger"" ni protini inayohusishwa na ugonjwa wa periodontal." "Hii ni kwa sababu ya ""amylase"" ambayo huja katika ubongo wa binadamu, ambayo ni sehemu ya mfumo wa ubongo wa binadamu, na ambayo huathiri watu wenye ugonjwa wa Down syndrome." Waligundua wagonjwa wenye afya mbaya ya periodontal walikuwa na hatari kubwa ya ugonjwa wa Alzheimer, na kuna hatari kubwa ya ugonjwa wa Down. Kwa hiyo mtu alianza kuangalia kwamba kidogo zaidi kwa karibu. Kwa mfano, utafiti wa afya ya periodontal ulifanywa katika wagonjwa wa zamani na wazee, ambao walikuwa na hatari kubwa ya ugonjwa wa Alzheimer. Kwa mfano, katika kesi ya wagonjwa walio na ugonjwa wa periodontal, kuna uwezekano mkubwa wa ugonjwa wa Alzheimer. Je, Ugonjwa wa Nywele Ulikuwa Kabla au Baada ya Ugonjwa wa Kifo cha Akili? Hii ni muhimu kwa sababu ugonjwa wa periodontal hauonekani baada ya mgonjwa kupata kupoteza kumbukumbu na dementia, na labda haifanyi kazi vizuri au haiwezi kuendelea na huduma za kibinafsi, kama vile usafi wa kibinafsi, kwa sababu ya kupoteza kumbukumbu au dementia. Jambo hilo limetukia hapo awali. Kwa hiyo, tunaamini kwamba ni sehemu ya sababu badala ya athari ya ugonjwa wenyewe. Je, Ugonjwa wa Nyusi Ni wa Kawaida Miongoni mwa Watu Wazima? - Ugonjwa wa taya ni wa kawaida miongoni mwa vikundi kadhaa vya umri. Inakuwa changamoto zaidi kwa wagonjwa wazee kulingana na kama walikuwa na upatikanaji wa huduma nzuri ya meno, na kama wamekuwa na uwezo wa kushikilia misingi ya meno yao. Pia, wagonjwa wengi wazee-wazee wanatumia dawa zinazosababisha kinywa kavu ambayo inaweza kuharibu afya ya taya na tishu za kinywa. Lakini, kwa kweli, hii ni moja ya sababu za sababu za kuwa na uwezo wa kudumisha usafi wa mdomo. Ni tu, hatujaweza kuwaambia watu jinsi muhimu hii ni. Je, Kuna Uhitaji wa Kujifunza Zaidi? Kuna ushahidi wa mapema kwamba kuna sababu ya moja kwa moja kati ya ugonjwa wa periodontal na Alzheimer, lakini ni mapema na ni kuangalia. Kwa kweli, kuna uwezekano mkubwa kwamba ugonjwa wa meno au ugonjwa wa meno ya chini utaongeza hatari ya ugonjwa wa Alzheimer, hasa ikiwa haujashughulikiwa na kusafisha meno na meno. - Ni dhahiri sababu ya hatari. Kwa hivyo, ikiwa unaangalia jinsi ya kudumisha afya ya ubongo wako, unaweza kuona kuwa sehemu ya hii ni kudumisha afya yako ya jumla. Hii ni pamoja na kuondoa gum na usafi wa mdomo. Sehemu muhimu za mahojiano zilirekebishwa kwa mwangaza ili kuwa wazi. Habari za KERA zinawezekana kupitia ukarimu wa wanachama wetu. Ikiwa unapata ripoti hii kuwa yenye thamani, fikiria kufanya zawadi inayoweza kupunguzwa kodi leo. Asanteni sana.