Avoid kissing or close contact during an active outbreak

Don’t share personal items like lip balms, cutlery, or towels

Use lip sunscreen if sun exposure is a known trigger

Support your immune system through a balanced diet, regular exercise, and stress management

When Should You See a Doctor?
It’s a good idea to consult a healthcare provider if:

Outbreaks happen frequently or are unusually painful

Over-the-counter remedies aren’t helping

The sores spread beyond the lips or grew significantly in size

Pain interferes with eating, drinking, or speaking

You have a weakened immune system, which can increase complications

The cause of Alzheimer’s may lie within your mouth

Alzheimer’s is the most popular reason of dementia in the UK, NHS notes. The exact cause of it is not fully understood such as increasing age, untreated depression, a family history of the condition, and lifestyle factors and conditions linked to cardiovascular diseases, among the rest.

However, in recent years, an increasing number of scientific studies have found that Alzheimer’s isn’t just a disease, but an infection.
A 2019 study finds that Alzheimer’s may be connected to gum disease.

“Infectious agents have been implied in the development and progression of Alzheimer’s disease before, but the evidence of causation hasn’t been convincing,” Dr. Stephen Dominy, Cortexyme co-founder, explained.

Looking at gingipains, the toxic enzymes of P. gingivalis, scientists explored that high gingipain levels were related to the presence of two other proteins already linked with the development of Alzheimer’s: tau and ubiquitin.

However, the team also found the presence of these toxic gingipains in the brains of deceased patients who were never diagnosed with Alzheimer’s.

The question is whether they would be diagnosed with the diseases had they been alive, or is it the Alzheimer’s that cause poor oral care.

“Our identification of gingipain antigens in the brains of individuals with AD and also with AD pathology but no diagnosis of dementia argues that brain infection with P. gingivalis is not a result of poor dental care following the onset of dementia or a consequence of late-stage disease, but is an early event that can explain the pathology found in middle-aged individuals before cognitive decline,” the authors explained in their paper.

The mice experiment also revealed a decrease of amyloid-beta production and neuroinflammation because of a compound formulated by the company called COR388.

“Drugs targeting the bacteria’s toxic proteins have so far only shown benefit in mice, yet with no new dementia treatments in over 15 years it’s important that we test as many approaches as possible to tackle diseases like Alzheimer’s,” chief scientific officer David Reynolds from Alzheimer’s Research said.