Could Gum Disease Cause Rheumatoid Arthritis? See Details Here!

Studies have found that a type of bacteria present in severe gum disease may trigger many cases of rheumatoid arthritis.

The researchers reported on Wednesday that, the bacteria is found in one of every three persons, and they found evidence that 47 percent of patients with rheumatoid arthritis had evidence of an infection, called Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans (orA a).

The bacteria focus on damaging the immune system cells called neutrophils in a way that seems to enrage the immune system, which then attacks them. Maximilian Konig and his colleagues from Johns Hopkins University found that this is the same process that triggers the inflammation seen in rheumatoid arthritis. The lead researcher Dr. Felipe Andrade said,

"We identified the bacteria in close to 50 percent of the patients,"

He added that, prevention is the best way to avoid any disease. Researchers have long believed that some sort of infection may cause rheumatoid arthritis, a so-called auto-immune disease caused when the body mistakenly attacks health tissue, according to Sciencedaily.

It attacks tissues in the joints, and sometimes around the heart and lungs. There is no cure for. The treatments usually only suppresses the immune system, thereby making patients vulnerable to infectious diseases and cancer.

Rheumatoid arthritis is a rare disease. The National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases said, up to 1.5 million America are believed to have the disease.

The researchers have not discussed how the bacteria might trigger rheumatoid arthritis.

They found a distinct pattern of damage called hypercitrullination in the gums of patients with periodontal disease which is the same pattern of damage seen in many rheumatoid arthritis patients. Andrade told NBC News,

"That was the first clue that something common may be happening in the patients."

The researchers discovered the Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans bacteria in patients with periodontal disease, and found these bacteria can cause the citrullination damage by secreting a toxin that punches holes in the neutrophil immune cells.

The researchers had to develop their own test for infection with the bacteria. Andrade said "We found that in patients with rheumatoid arthritis, almost half of the patients have evidence of the infection by the bacteria."

How would a mouth infection cause inflammation in the joints? Andrade said, the bacteria might have traveled to the joints, or perhaps it is caused by damaged immune cells, or maybe something else is going on.

The researchers belief that using antibiotics in treating the disease will do more harm than good, by destroying beneficial bacteria and aid in breeding drug-resistant bacteria. The researchers said, when a patient is diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis, it is usually too late as the disease takes years and even decades to develop.

It is speculated that it might not just be the "A a" bacteria as other bacteria secretes toxins to defend against immune cells, which may cause a similar pattern of damage. A scan conducted on the patients found that the bacteria normally found in the mouth did not appear to be linked with rheumatoid arthritis or the citrullination damage.