Did you know that periodontal, better known as gum disease, can cause metabolic syndrome? Metabolic syndrome is a group of conditions that can increase one's risk of heart disease and diabetes. These conditions include obesity, altered lipid metabolism, high blood pressure, high blood glucose levels, and systemic inflammation.
Researchers from Tokyo Medical and Dental University recently found that infection with Porphyromonas gingivalis (the bacterium causing gum disease), can cause skeletal muscle metabolic dysfunction by altering the composition of the gut microbiome.
Gum disease (periodontal bacteria) can cause inflammation within the oral cavity and could also increase inflammatory mediators (messengers that promote inflammatory response). Therefore, prolonged infection with gum disease can result in an increase in body weight or increased insulin resistance, which is a staple of type 2 diabetes. Insulin moves glucose from the blood into tissue, like the skeletal muscle. Insulin resistance is key to the development of metabolic syndrome.
How could the bacterium from gum disease be capable of causing inflammation? The study showed that the mice with Porphyromonas gingivalis resulted in the gut microbiome being significantly altered, which might decrease insulin sensitivity.
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