Investigating the association between periodontal disease and Alzheimer's disease: a scoping review

Abstract

Background The objective of this study was to evaluate and present evidence from animal and human clinical studies on associations between periodontal disease (PD) and Alzheimer's disease (AD), and to suggest potential mechanisms that might explain such associations. Methods An electronic search was conducted of PubMed, Embase and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials for articles published from 2004to 2024 in the English language. From the initial search, 357 full-text studies were assessed for eligibility. After excluding studies for technical and study limitations, a total of 39 studies were included in the summary tables and additional studies were included in the review to support evidence. Results A total of 39 studies on the correlation between periodontal disease (PD) and Alzheimer 's disease (AD) were included in this study. Among them, 22 articles were related studies, and 20 studies showed that there was a correlation between PD and AD. 15 articles were related to mechanism research, and the research showed that PD is associated with brain Aβ and tau protein aggregation, the inflammatory response caused by PD is closely related to AD and P. gingivalis is closely related to the development of AD. Two latest treatment studies, studies have shown that gingipain inhibitors could be valuable for treating Pg brain colonization and neurodegeneration in AD and nisin abrogation of brain microbiome dysbiosis induces beneficial effects on AD-like pathogenic changes and neuroinfammation. Conclusions This scoping review shows that periodontal disease (PD) is associated with the progression of Alzheimer 's disease (AD). PD has been proposed as a potentially modifiable etiological factor for AD, which opens up new therapeutic strategies for the prevention or management of AD.