Gum Disease Linked with Accelerated Cognitive Decline in Alzheimer’s Disease
Gum disease may be associated with faster cognitive decline in patients with early-stage Alzheimer’s disease, suggests a small observational study in the March 10 PLOS One.
“The mechanism for the relationship between periodontitis and cognitive decline is still unclear,” researchers wrote, “but there is increasing evidence to support a role for systemic inflammation.”
The study involved 59 patients with mild-to-moderate Alzheimer’s disease. At the study’s start, researchers assessed participants’ cognition and took blood samples to measure inflammatory markers. A dental hygienist assessed their dental health. Six months later, the same tests were performed on 52 of the participants.
Patients with gum disease at baseline, researchers found, showed a 6-fold increase in the rate of cognitive decline over the 6 months of the study, compared with patients with better dental health. In addition, gum disease at baseline was linked with a relative increase in the pro-inflammatory state and a decrease in the anti-inflammatory state over the 6 months.
“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,” said researcher Clive Holmes, PhD, professor at the University of Southampton.
“Our study was small and lasted for 6 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.”
—Jolynn Tumolo
References
2. Link between gum disease and cognitive decline in Alzheimer’s [press release]. Newswise: Charlottesville, VA; March 9, 2016.
