Dental health in advanced age and Alzheimer's Disease: A possible link with bacterial toxins entering the brain?

Psychiatry Res Neuroimaging. 2018 Dec 30:282:132-133. doi: 10.1016/j.pscychresns.2018.06.009. Epub 2018 Jun 26.

Abstract

We investigated a possible link between bacterial infestation of the oral cavity, dental health and Alzheimer's dementia (AD). Resistant germs on the surface of the maxillary molars are the cause of a complex biofilm of bacteria with the effect of a colonization of germs between oral cavity and maxillary sinus. Bacterial toxins may lead to subsequent inflammatory processes transgressing to neighboring central nervous system structures that are suspected to be crucial in the inception of AD, such as the entorhinal cortex and the hippocampus.

Keywords: Alzheimer's dementia; Bacterial toxins; Dental health; Entorhinal cortex; Inflammation; Paranasal sinuses.

Publication types

  • Letter

MeSH terms

  • Aged
  • Aged, 80 and over
  • Aging / pathology*
  • Alzheimer Disease / diagnosis
  • Alzheimer Disease / drug therapy
  • Alzheimer Disease / microbiology*
  • Anti-Bacterial Agents / therapeutic use
  • Bacterial Toxins / isolation & purification*
  • Brain / microbiology*
  • Brain / pathology
  • Dental Plaque / diagnosis
  • Dental Plaque / drug therapy
  • Dental Plaque / microbiology*
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Periodontitis / diagnosis
  • Periodontitis / microbiology*

Substances

  • Anti-Bacterial Agents
  • Bacterial Toxins