There is growing evidence that oral bacteria play a significant role in systemic diseases like heart disease and colon cancer, despite the fact that the majority of people do not associate oral disease with serious health issues. Amyloid plaque, a hallmark of Alzheimer's disease, is now linked to periodontal (gum) disease, according to new Forsyth Institute research. Forsyth researchers and their Boston University colleagues demonstrate in their paper "Microglial cell response to experimental periodontal disease," which was published in the Journal of Neuroinflammation, that gum disease can alter microglial cells, which protect the brain from amyloid plaque. Alzheimer's patients are