Periodontitis is associated with altered brain structure and function in normal cognition middle-aged and elderly...

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Periodontology
• Gerontology

Background:

• Periodontitis is a suspected risk factor for Alzheimer's disease.
• The connection between periodontitis and normal cognition in older adults remains unclear.
• Understanding this link may aid Alzheimer's disease development insights and prevention strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate associations between periodontal health and brain structure/function in normal cognition elderly.
• Utilizing multimodal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to assess brain metrics.

Main Methods:

• Collected high-resolution T1-weighted structural MRI, resting-state functional-MRI, and periodontal data from 40 normal cognition elderly.
• Calculated cortical volume, thickness, area, and regional homogeneity using DPABISurf.
• Performed correlation analyses between imaging metrics and periodontal indices.

Main Results:

• Severe periodontitis correlated negatively with cortical volume, area, and thickness in primary and advanced cognitive regions.
• Mild attachment loss and shallow pocket depth showed positive correlations with brain structure/function.
• Severe attachment loss and deep pocket depth showed negative correlations with brain structure/function (p < .005).

Conclusions:

• Periodontitis is associated with significant brain structure and function alterations in cognitively normal middle-aged and elderly adults.
• These findings suggest periodontitis could be a potential risk factor for brain damage.
• Further research is warranted to explore the implications for cognitive health and neurodegenerative disease prevention.