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• Thu, 08:48 : Gum Disease can lead to High Heart Disease Risk http://t.co/vEoHKiJpEz


• Thu, 08:58 : http://t.co/sWisWI28gy Gum Disease can lead to High Heart Disease Risk

from paul_fjeldsted http://paul-fjeldsted.livejournal.com/17483.html

Gum Disease can lead to High Heart Disease Risk

Bacteria that cause gum disease could also increase heart disease risk, a new study finds.



The study, conducted by researchers at the University of Florida, shows that there is a connection between gum and heart disease. Researchers hope that their findings could help accelerate heart problem diagnosis and lead to better health management.



Previous research has linked gum disease with heart problems. The American Heart Association, in 2012, published a statement saying that it supports the idea that a relation exists between the two diseases. The association, however, doesn't believe that gum problems cause heart disease.

Mice models were used in the study. The mice were infected with four types of bacteria; Porphyromonas gingivalis, Treponema denticola, Tannerella forsythia, Fusobacterium nucleatum. These bacteria are associated with gum disease. Researchers then looked at how the gum disease spreads. The team found that the disease led to an increased cholesterol and inflammation levels, which are increase heart attack risk.

"We report evidence that introduction of oral bacteria into the bloodstream in mice increased risk factors for atherosclerotic heart disease. Our hope is that the American Heart Association will acknowledge causal links between oral disease and increased heart disease. That will change how physicians diagnose and treat heart disease patients," said Irina M. Velsko, a graduate student in the University of Florida's College of Medicine, according to a news release.

The study was presented at the annual meeting of the American Society for Microbiology. It was funded by the Institutes of Health/National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research. The research is part of a larger study that is looking into the connection between gum disease and general health.

"In Western medicine there is a disconnect between oral health and general health in the rest of the body; Dentistry is a separate field of study from Medicine. The mouth is the gateway to the body and our data provides one more piece of a growing body of research that points to direct connections between oral health and systemic health," said Kesavalu Lakshmyya at the University of Florida's Department of Periodontology in the College of Dentistry.



Source: http://www.natureworldnews.com/articles/7141/20140520/gum-disease-lead-high-risk-heart.htm



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• Wed, 08:41 : Preventing gum disease before it starts http://t.co/6XL2lh66QB


• Wed, 08:50 : http://t.co/7Z96HRdU0f Preventing gum disease before it starts

from paul_fjeldsted http://paul-fjeldsted.livejournal.com/16931.html

Preventing gum disease before it starts

When the population of bacteria in our mouths gets out of whack, inflammation and bone loss can ensue—a disease of the gums called periodontitis. Nearly half of American adults have this condition, which, when severe, can lead to systemic illnesses like heart disease and diabetes.



A collaboration among researchers from the School of Dental Medicine and the Perelman School of Medicine may hold out some hope for a promising treatment, resulting in a new target for preventing and possibly reversing periodontitis: a molecule that makes up a part of our own immune arsenals called complement.



The Penn team was led by George Hajishengalli, a professor in Penn Dental’s Department of Microbiology, and John Lambris, the Dr. Ralph and Sallie Weaver Professor Research Medicine in Penn Medicine’s Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine.



“Our work demonstrates a proof-of-concept that complement-targeted therapies can interfere with disease-promoting mechanisms,” Hajishengalli says.



The researchers knew from earlier studies that Porphyromonas gingivalis—the bacterium responsible for many cases of periodontitis—plays a game of subterfuge in the body. It has various strategies that prevent it from being killed by the immune system, yet it paradoxically feeds off the inflammation that the immune response creates. To ensure it can survive and thrive, P. gingivalis has evolved mechanisms that help it suppress the immune system so that other bacteria in the mouth can flourish and further inflame the gums.



To determine what element of the immune system was involved in contributing to this inflammation, the researchers investigated the complement system—part of the innate immune system that acts as a primary responder to invading microbes and is central in triggering an inflammatory response.



Experiments in mice showed that a complement molecule called C3 was critical for sustaining P. gingivalis infection over the long term. As it happens, a drug that inhibits C3, called Cp40, was already in development to treat other diseases. Mice don’t respond to Cp40, but monkeys do. By administering Cp40 to the gums of monkeys, the researchers were able to reduce inflammation and significantly prevent bone loss—signs that the drug was effectively protecting the animals against periodontitis.



“We think this drug offers a promising possibility for treating adults with periodontitis,” Lambris says. “Blocking C3 locally in the mouth helps shift the balance of bacteria, producing an overall beneficial effect.”



Source: http://www.upenn.edu/pennnews/current/2014-05-29/latest-news/preventing-gum-disease-it-starts



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