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In a recent 2021 study from New York University, oral health researchers found that cognitively healthy older adults with harmful oral bacteria experienced a key Alzheimer’s disease biomarker called amyloid beta.

Researchers found that amyloid beta was more likely to be detected in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of subjects with high concentrations of oral pathogens below the gumline. When amyloid beta accumulates, it forms hard, insoluble clumps called amyloid plaques. Amyloid plaques have been argued by researchers to be the main disruptors of communication between brain cells in Alzheimer’s patients.

The U.S. researchers identified oral pathogens including Porphyromonas, Fretibacterium and Prevotella, and pro-biotic bacterial species including Actinomyces, Capnocytophaga and Corynebacterium.

Fortunately, the results of the study showed that subjects with higher levels of pro-biotic bacteria had decreased gum inflammation. This may have a protective effect against Alzheimer’s. The subjects with better gum health were also less likely to have Amyloid beta biomarkers in their CSF.

Despite the need for further studies with a larger sampling of subjects, the researchers were able to ascertain that the balance or imbalance of good & bad oral bacteria had a modulating effect on amyloid levels and the expression of amyloid lesions.

Reference:

Kamer, A., Pushalkar, S., Gulivindala, D., Butler, T., Li, Y., Annam, K., Glodzik, L., Ballman, K., Corby, P., Blennow, K., Zetterberg, H., Saxena, D. and Leon, M., 2021. Periodontal dysbiosis associates with reduced CSF Aβ42 in cognitively normal elderly. Alzheimer’s & Dementia: Diagnosis, Assessment & Disease Monitoring, 13(1). Read the NYU study here: https://alz-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/dad2.12172