Looking at gingipains, the toxic enzymes of P. gingivalis, scientists explored that high gingipain levels were related to the presence of two other proteins already linked with the development of Alzheimer’s: tau and ubiquitin.
However, the team also found the presence of these toxic gingipains in the brains of deceased patients who were never diagnosed with Alzheimer’s.The question is whether they would be diagnosed with the diseases had they been alive, or is it the Alzheimer’s that cause poor oral care.
“Our identification of gingipain antigens in the brains of individuals with AD and also with AD pathology but no diagnosis of dementia argues that brain infection with P. gingivalis is not a result of poor dental care following the onset of dementia or a consequence of late-stage disease, but is an early event that can explain the pathology found in middle-aged individuals before cognitive decline,” the authors explained in their paper.
The mice experiment also revealed a decrease of amyloid-beta production and neuroinflammation because of a compound formulated by the company called COR388.
“Drugs targeting the bacteria’s toxic proteins have so far only shown benefit in mice, yet with no new dementia treatments in over 15 years it’s important that we test as many approaches as possible to tackle diseases like Alzheimer’s,” chief scientific
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