'He's in our hearts': Family and friends still seek answers one year after Nathan Wise’s disappearance
It’s been a year since Nathan Wise went missing and his family is no closer to finding out what happened to him.
An early study has shown keeping your gums and teeth healthy may have added benefits for your brain health.
Preliminary research, set to be presented at the American Stroke Association's International Stroke Conference next week, suggests adults who are genetically prone to poor oral health could be at a greater risk of showing signs of declining brain health.
Since the results are preliminary, the researchers say more evidence, including through clinical trials, and a more diverse pool of subjects, is needed.
"What hasn't been clear is whether poor oral health affected brain health, meaning the functional status of a person's brain, which we are now able to understand better using neuroimaging tools such as magnetic resonance imaging or MRI," study author Dr. Cyprien Rivier, a postdoctoral fellow in neurology at the Yale School of Medicine in New Haven, Conn., said in a news release from the American Stroke Association.
"Studying oral health is especially important because poor oral health happens frequently and is an easily modifiable risk factor — everyone can effectively improve their oral health with minimal time and financial investment."
The American Stroke Association pointed to previous studies that have shown gum disease, missing teeth, poor brushing and lack of plaque removal can increase the risk of stroke.
Gum disease and other oral health issues are also linked to conditions such as high blood pressure, the association says.
For the latest study, researchers between 2014 and 2021 looked at 40,000 adults enrolled in the biomedical database known as the U.K. Biobank.
Forty-six per cent of the adults were men and their average age was 57. None had a history of stroke.
The researchers screened the participants for 105 genetic variants that would make them more likely to develop cavities or missing teeth or need dentures later in life.
They also screened the individuals for signs of poor breath health using MRI.
The researchers found that those who were genetically prone to poor oral health had a 24 per cent increase in white matter hyperintensities, or built up damage to the brain's white matter which can affect memory, balance and mobility.
Individuals with poor oral health also showed a 43 per cent change in microstructural damage, or the amount of "fine architecture" in the brain that has changed compared to a healthy adult of a similar age, the researchers say.
Dr. Joseph P. Broderick, a professor at the University of Cincinnati Department of Neurology and Rehabilitation Medicine, who was not involved in the study, said in the same news release from the American Stroke Association that while the study does not show dental hygiene improves brain health, the findings are "intriguing" and warrant further research.
"Environmental factors such as smoking and health conditions such as diabetes are much stronger risk factors for poor oral health than any genetic marker — except for rare genetic conditions associated with poor oral health, such as defective or missing enamel," Broderick said.
"It is still good advice to pay attention to oral hygiene and health. However, since people with poor brain health are likely to be less attentive to good oral health compared to those with normal brain health, it is impossible to prove cause and effect.
"Also, genetic profiles for increased risk of oral health may overlap with genetic risk factors for other chronic health conditions like diabetes, hypertension, stroke, infections, etc. that are known to be related to brain imaging markers."
The researchers highlighted certain limitations of the study, including that the Biobank only includes those who live in the U.K.
Ninety-four per cent of participants in the Biobank are white and the researchers say research involving people of different racial and ethnic backgrounds is needed.
It’s been a year since Nathan Wise went missing and his family is no closer to finding out what happened to him.
Dozens of Ontarians are expressing frustration in the province’s health-care system after their family doctors either dropped them as patients or threatened to after they sought urgent care elsewhere.
An Ottawa pizzeria is being recognized as one of the top 20 deep-dish pizzas in the world.
Amazon's paid subscription service provides free delivery for online shopping across Canada except for remote locations, the company said in an email. While customers in Iqaluit qualify for the offer, all other communities in Nunavut are excluded.
The fire burning near Fort McMurray grew from 25 hectares to 5,500 hectares over the weekend.
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin began a Cabinet shakeup on Sunday, proposing the replacement of Sergei Shoigu as defence minister as he begins his fifth term in office.
Police are searching for a suspect in a homicide investigation after a man was slashed in downtown Toronto on Sunday.
There were some scary moments for several people on a northern Ontario highway caught on video Thursday after a chain reaction following a truck fire.
Health Canada announced various product recalls this week, including electric adapters, armchairs, cannabis edibles and vehicle components.
English, history, entertainment, math and geography: high school trivia teams could be quizzed on any of it when they compete at the Reach for the Top Nationals in Ottawa in June.
An Ottawa pizzeria is being recognized as one of the top 20 deep-dish pizzas in the world.
A family of fifth generation farmers from Ituna, Sask. are trying to find answers after discovering several strange objects lying on their land.
A Listowel, Ont. man, drafted by the Hamilton Tigercats last week, is also getting looks from the NFL, despite only playing 27 games of football in his life.
The threat of zebra mussels has prompted the federal government to temporarily ban watercraft from a Manitoba lake popular with tourists.
A small Ajax dessert shop that recently received a glowing review from celebrity food critic Keith Lee is being forced to move after a zoning complaint was made following the social media influencer’s visit last month.
The Canada Science and Technology Museum is inviting visitors to explore their poop. A new exhibition opens at the Ottawa museum on Friday called, 'Oh Crap! Rethinking human waste.'
The Regina Police Service says it is the first in Saskatchewan and possibly Canada to implement new technology in its detention facility that will offer real-time monitoring of detainees’ vital health metrics.
Just as she had feared, a restaurant owner from eastern Quebec who visited Montreal had her SUV stolen, but says it was all thanks to the kindness of strangers on the internet — not the police — that she got it back.