Periodontal Bacteria Linked to Heart Disease

[ElsewheresDaughter]

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&ncid=751&e=1&u=/nm/20050209/hl_nm/bacteria_heart_dc

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - People who test positive for bacteria that cause periodontal disease also have increased thickness of the carotid artery, which suggests there is a direct relationship between periodontal infection and atherosclerosis, investigators report.


However, "there is no guarantee that treating periodontal disease would reverse it, because the damage might be preventable but not reversible," Dr. Moise Desvarieux told Reuters Health.


While there have been numerous studies linking periodontal health and the risk of vascular disease, this is the first to directly measure oral bacteria and thickness of the arteries, Dr. Desvarieux explained.


Desvarieux, an epidemiologist at Columbia University in New York City, and colleagues obtained up to eight subgingival plaque samples from each of 657 subjects 55 years or older with no history of stroke or heart attack. The samples were analyzed for 11 different types of bacteria. Carotid artery thickness was measured using high-resolution ultrasound.


After adjusting the data to factor out conventional risk factors, the researchers found that carotid artery thickness corresponded with bacterial levels. Five specific types of bacteria that cause periodontal disease were detected.

[HereSince1628]

1. Isn't there evidence that periodontal disease in dogs also

is associated with renal disease? I don't own dogs so I'm not up to speed on this, but I seem to remember something in the NY Times about this many years back..

[ElsewheresDaughter]

2. yes .. ..a study about canine PD vs dogs with no PD and RF

don't recall what the results weretho :shrug: