ABOVE: Porphyromonas gingivalis bacteria
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Traces of the bacterium Porphyromonas gingivalis, which causes chronic gum disease, have been found in the brains of people who had Alzheimer’s disease. The result suggests the bacterium may play a role in driving the development of the disease, researchers reported yesterday (January 23) in Science Advances.
Researchers looked at brain tissue from autopsies of individuals with and without Alzheimer’s disease and found a majority of those with the disease had higher levels of an enzyme called gingipains, which is produced by P. gingivalis. They also studied the enzyme’s effects in the brains of mice, and found that it caused the animals to develop signs of Alzheimer’s. The results indicate gingipains is the “main cause of Alzheimer’s disease,” study coauthor Steve Dominy, a neurologist at Cortexyme, Inc., a company developing treatments for the disease, tells Newsweek. The new study is one of a growing ...
