Periodontitis

PHILADELPHIA, April 16, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Periodontal diseases, commonly known as gingivitis and periodontitis, remain a significant global health challenge, affecting nearly 60% of adults aged 65 and older and contributing to substantial medical, psychological, and financial burdens. Driven by a deregulated immune response to oral bacteria, chronic inflammation can not only lead to gum tissue destruction and tooth loss but also is linked to numerous systemic conditions. Researchers at Penn Dental Medicine discovered in an earlier clinical study that the chronic gum inflammation can promote an aging-related condition called "senescence," even in younger tissues. Senescent cells, which have permanently ceased to divide in response to stress, secrete inflammatory molecules that increase tissue damage, impair healing, and accelerate disease severity. Now, a new translational study by the same research team reveals that targeting senescent cell burden could be an effective strategy for managing periodontal disease and promoting oral health. In a paper recently published in the Journal of Dental Research, researchers showed that an anti-senescence therapy or "senotherapy," consisting of an enzyme inhibitor called dasatinib and a natural flavonoid plant compound called quercetin, reduced markers of senescence and associated periodontal inflammation and bone loss in lab-dish and animal models. "Our findings suggest that senotherapy offers a promising approach to preserving periodontal health," says Dr. Esra Sahingur of Penn Dental Medicine. "Periodontitis is more than a bacterial infection—it's driven by immune and metabolic dysfunction, cellular aging, and inflammation. By targeting inflammation and senescent cells, we may disrupt the chronic disease cycle and unlock new preventive and therapeutic possibilities for oral and systemic health." Sahingur and her team now hope to initiate an early-stage clinical trial to assess the effects of quercetin alone on biological and clinical markers in patients with gum diseases. She says that future clinical trials might also investigate the benefits of adding dasatinib at lower doses and intermittently to determine its safety and efficacy in periodontal applications. "Our hope is that these initial clinical trials will provide proof-of-concept for leveraging the therapeutic potential of natural products -- either as standalone agents or in combination regimens—as host modulatory strategies to enhance clinical outcomes in the management of periodontitis," Sahingur says. "If successful, this could lay the foundation for more targeted and effective treatments, particularly for patients at high risk of severe periodontal disease." Read more>> Media Contact: Beth Adams, [email protected] SOURCE PENN DENTAL MEDICINE WANT YOUR COMPANY'S NEWS FEATURED ON PRNEWSWIRE.COM? 440k+ Newsrooms & Influencers 9k+ Digital Media Outlets 270k+ Journalists Opted In GET STARTED

TUESDAY, Jan. 14, 2025 -- Periodontitis might be a potential risk factor for impaired brain function even in individuals with normal cognition, according to a study published online Nov. 20 in the Journal of Periodontology . Wei Ye, from the First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University in Hefei, China, and colleagues investigated the effects of periodontitis on brain function (intranetwork functional connectivity [FC] and internetwork FC). The analysis included periodontal findings and resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging from 51 middle-aged and elderly participants with normal cognition. The researchers found differences in intranetwork FC among groups in the anterior default-mode network (aDMN), dorsal attention network, and dorsal sensorimotor network (dSMN). The analysis of internetwork FC showed increased FC between the auditory network and the ventral attention network (VAN), between the aDMN and the salience network (SN), and between the SN and the VAN. The analysis also showed decreased FC between the posterior default-mode network and the right frontoparietal network in the moderate-to-severe periodontitis group compared with those without periodontitis or with mild periodontitis. There was also an increase in internetwork FC between the dSMN and the VAN in those with moderate-to-severe periodontitis compared with no periodontitis. There was a significant correlation seen between altered intranetwork and internetwork FC with the periodontal clinical index. "The present study indicates that periodontitis might be a potential risk factor for brain damage and provides a theoretical clue and a new treatment target for the early prevention of Alzheimer disease," the authors write.

MONDAY, Jan. 13, 2025 -- Gum disease appears to disrupt brain activity, potentially increasing a person’s risk of cognitive decline. People with gum disease experienced altered connections between different brain regions, compared to folks with good dental health, MRI scans show in a new study. “These differences suggest that periodontitis may negatively affect brain function even in normal cognition,” concluded the research team led by Xaiohu Li , an associate professor of radiology with the First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University in Hefei, China. Further, the results indicate that “periodontitis might be a potential risk factor for brain damage and provides a theoretical clue and a new treatment target for the early prevention of Alzheimer disease,” the team wrote in its report published recently in the Journal of Periodontology . For the study, researchers studied the oral health and brain activity of 51 people, including 11 with healthy gums , 14 with mild gum disease, and 26 with moderate-to-severe gum disease. The people with moderate-to-severe gum disease displayed changes in connections between and within different brain regions, researchers said. Overall, gum disease was associated with impairment of network function within the brain. “To the best of our knowledge, the present study is the first to compare brain function changes in elderly individuals with normal cognition with different severity levels of periodontitis from the perspective of brain networks,” researchers wrote. These changes might be caused by brain inflammation promoted by gum infections. Bacteria from diseased gums can invade brain tissues, promoting an immune response, researchers said. Prior studies also have found higher levels of amyloid beta deposits -- a hallmark of Alzheimer’s -- in the brains of people with gum disease, researchers said. “These findings not only enrich our understanding of periodontitis but also contribute to the development of potential imaging biomarkers and may provide new approaches for the early prevention and treatment of AD [Alzheimer’s disease],” researchers wrote. “The present study has important implications for improving not only oral health but also neurological health worldwide,” they concluded. Whatever your topic of interest, subscribe to our newsletters to get the best of Drugs.com in your inbox.