Will long term periodontal disease causes Alzheimer's Disease - Research Paper Example

Periodontal Disease Linked with Alzheimer’s disease Periodontal Disease Linked with Alzheimer’s disease There has been ample research where the researchers have tried to find a correlation between the occurrence of Alzheimer’s disease and periodontal disease. The following paper is based on a rigorous research basing its answer upon overview of scholarly articles and presenting the linkage to present linkage between periodontal disease and Alzheimer’s disease. Before this paper progresses into a detailed explanation, it is necessary to discuss both diseases and establish a correlation element as highlighted by scholars in their researches1.

Periodontal Disease is caused by several conditions that cause inflammation and destruction of gums, alveolar bone, and other structures that hold teeth. Periodontal disease is a chronic disease that causes inflammation and immune reaction, which results in a tissue damage and done loss. Recent studies show that blood tests reveal a higher level of plasma CRP and leukocytes in blood samples of periodontal disease patients HYPERLINK \l "Wat08" 2 . Alzheimer’s disease is a leading cause of dementia among the elderly population in the US.

Approximately, 4.5 million people fall prey to this disease. Usually, with progress in age every individual becomes prone to this disease. However, some people are more prone to develop Alzheimer’s disease if they have had periodontal disease. Available literature suggests that periodontal disease causes cognitive malfunction, which eventually leads to Alzheimer’s disease. Many studies have been conducted in order to find a causal link between the two diseases and most of the studies have concluded results that show Alzheimer’s disease can occur in patients with periodontal disease.

Therefore, the research suggested that inflammation or peripheral infection in the gums can alter the state of brain. In fact, many preliminary studies show that mechanisms of Alzheimer’s disease progresses faster in patients who have periodontal disease. However, it is important to mention that clear reasons have not been surfaced yet and none of the studies found the periodontal disease as the basic underlying cause of the Alzheimer’s disease. All studies are of the opinion that there is a causal link between the two diseases.

Nevertheless, many doctors today believe that the inflammation caused in the gum due to periodontal disease can lead and inflammation in the brain. It is further explained that periodontal disease produce cytokines can reach the brain through varied pathways causing inflammation in the brain and further triggering an impairment of the cognition of the infected individual3. NYU dental researchers have been able to produce the first ever evidence claiming that the periodontal disease mitigates the risk of malfunctioning in cognition that which is linked to the Alzheimer’s disease in both cognitively impaired and clinically healthy patients. Dr. Angela Kamer, an assistant professor of Periodontology and Implant, initiated a research whereby after assessing 20 years of collected data she and her team claimed that there is causal relationship between Alzheimer’s and Periodontal disease. Dr. Kamer expressed that the results reveal a higher risk factor of dysfunction in cognition of those who have periodontal inflammation as compared to those patients who had no or little periodontal inflammation1(para1) .

Another study was conducted in order to confirm the results, which revealed that those patients who had Alzheimer have showed a higher level of antibodies, and inflammatory molecules that are linked to the periodontal disease. Their plasma was compared to healthy patients to reveal that the periodontal disease was existent among the Alzheimer’s patients. Although, Dr Kamer was able to show that there is a link between cognition dysfunction and periodontal disease; however, she still believes that the link between Alzheimer’s disease and periodontal disease requires research1(para10).

Moreover, periodontal disease leads to several other diseases such as the cardiovascular diseases. Many other studies show that the periodontal disease increases the risk of Alzheimer’s disease three times more. However, some of the older cases were considered in order to see if the Alzheimer’s disease was genetic. The data collected were of those subjects who were twins. The results revealed the Alzheimer’s disease was a genetically induced disease. It was also emphasized that if one of the twin’s contracts the disease the other twin is 60% prone to develop it as well.

However, what seems surprising is that even after the causal links found in relation to the periodontal disease and Alzheimer’s, most of the women seem to be more prone to contracting dental problems than men because they fear visiting dentists 4 5. Nevertheless, as per the above research it can be analyzed that periodontal disease and Alzheimer’s disease has strong linkage. However, the area requires rigorous research in order to be strongly sure about the mentioned linkage between the two diseases.

Reference List x 1. NYU Dentistery. New Evidence From NYU College of Dentistery Supports Link Between Gum Inflammation and Alzheimer's Disease. nyu. 2013. http://www.nyu.edu/dental/news/index.html?news=236 . Accessed January 29, 2013. 2. Watts A, Crimmins E, Gatz M. Inflammation as a Potential Mediator for the Association of Periodontal Disease and Alzheimer's disease. Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment. 2008; 4(5): 865–876. 3. Kamer AR, Craig RG, Dasanayake AP, Brys M, Glodzik-Sobanska L, Leon MJd. In?ammation and Alzheimer’s disease: Possible role of periodontal diseases. Elsevier. 2008; 4: 242–250. 4. Noble J, Borrell L, Papapanou P, Elkind M, Scarmeas N, Wright C.

Periodontitis is Associated With Cognitive Impairment Among Older Adults: Analysis of NHANES-III. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. November 2009; 80(11): 1206–1211. 5. American Dental Association. N E W S. JADA, Vol. 136. 2005; 136 : 1084-1088. x