An international team of researchers has found evidence that suggests certain types of oral bacteria may cause or exacerbate bowel disorders. Bowel disorders such as irritable bowel syndrome, ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease are more than just a nuisance, they can cause serious degradation to quality of life, and in some cases, can even be deadly.
Finding a link between bacteria that live in the mouth and common bowel disorders could show the association between oral bacteria and bowel disorders. Patients with one of the three main types of bowel disorders also had higher than normal levels of oral bacteria in their feces, suggesting higher levels in their guts. Suspecting there may be a link, researchers conducted several experiments to learn more about the connection between the two types of bacteria.
In the first experiment, the researchers introduced human saliva from people with Crohn’s disease into the guts of mice with a sterilized gut microbiome. A closer look revealed the bacteria responsible for the inflammation was Klebsiella pneumoniae, a strain commonly found in the human mouth, but seldom in the gut.
In another experiment, the researchers introduced the bacteria directly into the intestines of healthy mice and found it caused no problems. Giving the mice Klebsiella-resistant antibiotics once again caused inflammation when Klebsiella was introduced. Other experiments with saliva from colitis patients offered similar results. There may be a link between the oral bacteria and bowel disorders.
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