More from the article ...

... While the exact mechanisms of this infection are something researchers are still trying to isolate, numerous studies suggest the deadly spread of Alzheimer's goes way beyond what we used to think.

One such study, published in 2019, suggested what could be one of the most definitive leads yet for a bacterial culprit behind Alzheimer's, and it comes from a somewhat unexpected quarter: gum disease.

In a paper led by senior author Jan Potempa, a microbiologist from the University of Louisville, researchers reported the discovery of Porphyromonas gingivalis -- the pathogen behind chronic periodontitis (aka gum disease) -- in the brains of deceased Alzheimer's patients.

It wasn't the first time the two factors have been linked, but the researchers went further.

In separate experiments with mice, oral infection with the pathogen led to brain colonization by the bacteria, together with increased production of amyloid beta (A), the sticky proteins commonly associated with Alzheimer's. ...