Periodontal Disease: Signpost for Alzheimer’s

The Los Angeles Times (free registration required) has this piece:

Gum inflammation may be linked to increased risk of the brain disorder

Missing teeth and gum disease at an early age may be linked to an increased risk of Alzheimer’s disease, researchers have found, bolstering the increasingly strong connection between early exposure to chronic inflammation and the degenerative brain disorder.

The study, among the findings presented last week at the first Alzheimer’s Assn. International Conference on Prevention of Dementia, examined lifestyle factors of more than 100 pairs of identical twins. All of the pairs included one twin who had developed dementia and one who hadn’t. Because identical twins are genetically indistinguishable, the study involved only risk factors that could be modified to help protect against dementia.

Twins who had severe periodontal disease before they were 35 years old had a fivefold increase in risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease, the researchers found.

Lead author Margaret Gatz, a psychology professor at USC, cautioned that the link between periodontal disease and Alzheimer’s doesn’t mean that extra flossing will reduce that risk.

“We’re not saying, ‘Brush your teeth: Prevent Alzheimer’s disease,’ at all. That would be an overly simplistic explanation,” Gatz said.

Instead, periodontal disease may be a marker for chronic exposure to disease that provokes an inflammatory response. Chronic inflammation can damage tissue, including the brain, which may contribute to the development of the disease.

“I would think of the periodontal disease as a signpost, not a cause,” Gatz said.

Periodontal disease is also linked to general health, she pointed out, and even the inflammatory link to Alzheimer’s may involve several factors.

There has been discussion in the literature regarding periodontal disease and cardiovascular disease, pro and con:

The periodontal-cardiovascular link.

Compend Contin Educ Dent. 2004 Sep;25(9):681-2, 685-92; quiz 694.

Periodontal diseases and the risk of coronary heart and cerebrovascular diseases: a meta-analysis.

J Periodontol. 2004 Aug;75(8):1046-53.

And studies of linkage to other systemic diseases:

Periodontal disease is associated with renal insufficiency in the Atherosclerosis Risk In Communities (ARIC) study.

Am J Kidney Dis. 2005 Apr;45(4):650-7.

However, in the meantime, while the studies are being undertaken and results generated, Flap is going to floss, water pik and brush just a little better.

Oh… and see the hygienist, dentist and periodontist regularly.