World Alzheimer’s Day is celebrated on September 21 every year. According to relevant data, 8 million people are suffering from this disease in China, accounting for about a quarter of the total number of cases in the world. Due to lack of awareness, these patients always seek treatment only after they have serious memory problems, which is often too late. To avoid this situation, scientists have been working on the early symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease. The latest research by Japanese scientists proves that people with bad teeth are at high risk of developing “Alzheimer’s disease” in the future, according to a report. How are teeth related to Alzheimer’s disease?
”Alzheimer’s disease is a disease that affects 7.2% of people over 65 years old
Sometimes we joke that our friends who always lose their teeth have “Alzheimer’s”. In fact, Alzheimer’s is really a disease, and losing things is an early symptom of it. The official medical name for it is “Alzheimer’s disease”.
Alzheimer’s disease can occur at any age, but it mostly starts in old age, so it is also known as “senile dementia”.
After the onset of the disease, patients experience a gradual progression from mild to severe, ranging from a few years to a dozen years. At the beginning, mild patients may lose things, especially for the immediate memory, such as not being able to remember the name of a new friend, or not being able to recall the content of a book or newspaper after reading it. Instead, there is a tendency for distant memories to intensify, such as repeatedly recalling events from decades ago. In severe cases, patients may forget their names and ages, not recognize their relatives, lose their ability to express themselves verbally or even lose their ability to walk, and eventually become bedridden, incontinent, and eventually die.
According to a survey report published by Harvard School of Public Health, the number of people suffering from Alzheimer’s disease has grown to 36 million in 2011, and Alzheimer’s disease is the second most serious problem after cancer in major cities in Europe and America.
The situation in China is even more worrying.
Up to now, the number of Alzheimer’s patients in China has reached 8 million, which is the highest in the world. Among them, the incidence of Alzheimer’s disease over 65 years old is as high as 7.2%.
The cause is unknown, and the teeth may be the breakthrough point for treatment
Although the impact of Alzheimer’s disease has been so far-reaching, scientists have strangely failed to find a clear cause for the disease. They do not know why humans develop the disease, and there is no way to diagnose Alzheimer’s disease while the patient is still alive.
The diagnosis can only be made after the death of the patient, through a pathological autopsy of the patient’s brain. This is because there are several special signs that appear in the brain of an Alzheimer’s patient that are not present in the brain of a normal person. They are: deposits of “beta-amyloid proteins”, extensive neuronal fiber tangles, and senile discoloration. Of these, senile discoloration is usually located in areas of the brain thought to control memory and higher cognitive abilities (such as self-perception, problem solving and reasoning).
For this reason, scientists are eager to identify the early signs of Alzheimer’s disease in order to analyze the cause and treat patients as early as possible.
Scientists from Okayama University in Japan, such as Morita, conducted an experiment with rats.
After 8 weeks, they found that the total amount of “beta-amyloid protein” in the brain of the rats rose to more than four times the normal level. The excessive accumulation of this protein in the brain is one of the hallmarks of patients with Alzheimer’s disease.
Mastication connects the teeth to the memory area of the brain
”Europe, the United States and Japan pay a lot of attention to ‘Alzheimer’s disease’ and have done some research on the link between teeth and brain.” Zhang Li, director of the Department of Geriatric Neurology at Nanjing Brain Hospital, told reporters.
”It is believed abroad that chewing of teeth can stimulate and affect the brain, and with bad teeth and reduced chewing, stimulation of the brain will also be reduced, and the volume of the medial temporal lobe and hippocampal area and surrounding tissues, which are responsible for memory, will shrink, leading to memory and cognitive decline. However, these ideas have only been confirmed in animal experiments so far. There are no domestic studies on the relationship between teeth and ‘Alzheimer’s disease’, but we have felt the interplay between the two in our practice.”
In his clinical practice in geriatric neurology, Director Zhang found that patients with complete tooth loss had significantly weaker memory than those with 20 or more teeth, and the number of patients with “Alzheimer’s disease” was 1.9 times higher in the former than in the latter. At the same time, if people who have lost all their teeth are fitted with dentures and can chew food normally, their rate of illness is lower than those who do not have dentures.
”This shows that the chewing ability of teeth is critical.” According to Director Zhang, this may be due to the fact that teeth are so close to the brain that the facial nerve conveys the influence between them. For example, we sometimes get a toothache and then notice that the same side of our head starts to hurt.
”And, while the relationship between teeth and ‘Alzheimer’s’ is unclear, the relationship with ‘vascular dementia’ is something that has long been proven.” Director Zhang said that there are many types of dementia, including familial dementia, dementia caused by long-term exposure to the outside world, “vascular dementia” related to cerebrovascular factors, “paralytic dementia” caused by advanced syphilis, and Alzheimer’s disease caused by “Alzheimer’s disease, etc.
Of all these dementias, two are related to teeth.
One is “Alzheimer’s disease,” in which the destruction of the chewing function of the teeth may be one of the causes.
The other is “vascular dementia,” which is linked to teeth not by chewing, but by bacteria. The inflammation in the oral cavity, especially in patients with periodontitis, may infect the blood vessels in the brain, causing a lack of blood supply and resulting in ischemic and hypoxic changes in brain tissue, eventually causing a total decline in brain function, resulting in “vascular dementia”.
Disease from the mouth not only refers to food but also refers to the bacteria of the mouth itself
”So, the disease comes from the mouth, not only from the food we eat, but also from the bacteria in the mouth itself. If you want to stay away from Alzheimer’s and vascular dementia, you have to pay attention to dental health.” Director Zhang told reporters.
Considering the impact of dental health on dementia and cerebrovascular aspects, the Department of Geriatric Neurology of Nanjing Brain Hospital has started to pay attention to oral care. Especially for the elderly who have serious symptoms, cannot take care of themselves, are bedridden, have swallowing dysfunction, or even coma, silver ion mouthwash will be used to help them clean their mouth.
For patients who are already suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, the current treatment is mainly divided into two aspects, namely, medication and nursing care: for medication, we mainly use Amlexan (generic name is Donepezil Hydrochloride Tablets), Memantine, Vitamin B, Ginkgo biloba, and Staphylococcus aurantium. In terms of care, for mild patients, we should encourage active social contact, appropriate brain activities and maintain a healthy diet; for severe patients, they need a dedicated escort.
Active treatment Don’t mistake it for natural aging
At present, Alzheimer’s disease cannot be completely cured, but with timely and accurate diagnosis and active treatment, the progress of the disease can be slowed down and the life of the patient can be prolonged.
But the worrying thing is that in China, Alzheimer’s disease has not been given enough attention. Surveys show that 47% of Chinese caregivers of the elderly with dementia believe that the condition is a result of natural aging and therefore do not seek medical attention.
In fact, although “Alzheimer’s disease” cannot be fully diagnosed pathologically, it can be clinically determined by physician questioning, memory testing, and MRI, and these methods have been proven to be effective.
Zhang recommends that if an elderly person in the family has symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease, it is best to go to the hospital in a timely manner.
”Given the possible link between teeth and Alzheimer’s, it is recommended that people protect their teeth and treat periodontal disease promptly if it occurs.”