A new study reveals an association between Alzheimer’s disease and Fusobacterium nucleatum, a common bacteria that proliferates in periodontal disease.
Possible links between periodontal disease and Alzheimer’s have been posited by scientists in the past. While the new research does not show that F. nucleatum-related periodontal disease leads directly to Alzheimer’s disease, the new study suggests that periodontal disease caused by F. nucleatum and left untreated or poorly treated could exacerbate symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease, Chen believes.
Conversely, treating periodontal disease effectively in those who have early-stage Alzheimer’s could potentially slow Alzheimer’s progression.
