10
&
March 2014 | Read this issue and more at www.healthandwellnessmagazine.net |
Like us
@healthykentucky
Medical researchers have
known about the link
between gum disease and
rheumatoid arthritis for
some time.
Gum Disease and Rheumatoid Arthritis:
The Link
By Fiona Young-Brown
If you needed another reason to
keep your gums healthy…
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an
autoimmune disease. Not to be confused with osteoarthritis, which is due
to aging and ongoing wear of joints,
with RA, sufferers’ immune systems
attack their own joints, causing pain
and inflammation of both the joints
and organs. If left untreated, it can
lead to long-term organ damage. As of
2007, RA affected 1.5 million adults.
The condition is three times more
common in women than in men, and
often rears its ugly head after the age
of 40. The severity of pain and other
symptoms varies from one patient to
the next, as well as from one day to
the next. At their most severe, symptom breakouts or “flares” can last for
just a few days or can drag on for several months. There is no cure for RA,
but a combination of medication and
lifestyle changes can make the condition easier to manage.
study, which looked at how the
presence of a bacterium that causes
periodontal disease, Porphyromonas
gingivalis, seems to speed up the
progression of RA and lead to more
severe symptoms.
The study found that the P. gingivalis bacterium produces an enzyme
that intensifies the progression of
collagen-induced arthritis, a form of
the disease very similar to RA. The
enzyme in question, peptidylarginine
deiminanse (PAD) changes certain
proteins in the body, thereby causing
the immune system to view them as
unwanted intruders. The result is an
attack against the supposed intruders,
resulting in painful inflammation of
the joints. Other oral bacteria looked
at in the study did not produce the
same results.
These findings will no doubt
lead to further studies exploring the
connections between periodontal
disease and rheumatoid arthritis. In
the meantime, it is a clear indication
that we should all maintain a strict
regimen of dental care, and that ongoing brushing and regular dental visits
are all the more important for those
diagnosed with RA. Sufferers of RA
should discuss their symptoms with
both their doctor and their dentist,
and may require more frequent dental
exams to monitor any changes in gum
health.
The results of Dr. Potempa’s study
were published in PLoS Pathogens in
September, 2013. The full text of the
article is available online at http://
www.plospathogens.org/ar