A study reinforces the theory about the origin of Alzheimer`s: an infection in the mouth

BY THE APPEARANCE OF `PORPHYROMONAS GINGIVALIS`

Discovery of the pathogen that causes chronic periodontitis in the brains of deceased Alzheimer`s patients may revolutionize studies on this disease

Over the last few years, various scientists have pointed to a little-known hypothesis about the origin of Alzheimer`s: according to their theory, it would not be just a disease, but an infection. Now, a new study published in Science Advances reinforces that theory and does so by linking this degenerative disease with an unexpected origin: a disease in the gums.Jan Potempa, a microbiologist at the University of Louisville, has discovered "Porphyromonas gingivalis" in the brains of deceased Alzheimer`s patients. It is the pathogen that causes chronic periodontitis, known as gum disease, and it is not the first time that both diseases have been associated, since a 2010 study already assessed this possibility.Experiments have been carried out with mice, in which oral infections were caused with the pathogen, which led the bacteria to reach the brain and that it produced the amyloid beta peptide (Aß), the protein associated with Alzheimer`s. Scientists believe that they have not yet discovered the origin of this degenerative disease, but they are convinced that this line of research is important.Stephen Dominy, who coordinates the research through the pharmaceutical company Cortexyme, assures Science Alert that "infectious agents have been implicated in the development and progression of Alzheimer`s before, but the evidence for causality had not been convincing. Now, for For the first time, we have strong evidence connecting the intracellular pathogen P. gingivalis and Alzheimer`s disease. "The importance of the mouthThe researchers did not stop there and identified toxic enzymes called gingipains in the brains of Alzheimer`s patients. But, in addition, they also found those gingipains in the brains of deceased people who were not diagnosed with Alzheimer`s.Until now, the pathogen Porphyromonas gingivalis and Alzheimer`s have been linked, but it was not known whether gum disease causes Alzheimer`s or whether it is dementia that leads to poor oral care. Now, finding gingipains in people who have never been diagnosed with Alzheimer`s could suggest that they might have developed the disease if they had lived longer.The authors of the research assure in their study that "our identification of gingipain antigens in the brains of people with Alzheimer`s disease and also with pathology of this disease but without having been diagnosed with dementia, maintains that brain infection with Porphyromonas gingivalis does not it is the result of poor dental care after the onset of dementia or a consequence of the disease, but rather an early event that may explain the pathology found in middle-aged people before cognitive decline. "