Dementia Japan 34:22-27, 2020

Cerebral small vessel diseases and Cnm-expressing Streptococcus mutans

Satoshi Saito^1)2)3)4), Masafumi Ihara¹⁾, Kazuhiko Nakano⁴⁾

¹⁾Department of Neurology, National Cerebral and Cardiovascular Center
²⁾Japan Society for the Promotion of Science:SPD
³⁾Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton
⁴⁾Department of Pediatric Dentistry, Osaka University Graduate School of Dentistry

The pathological hallmarks of cerebral small vessel diseases include small infarcts and microbleedings, which are commonly observed both in Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia. Administration of Cnm-expressing Streptococcus mutans induced cerebral hemorrhage in rodent models, suggesting that Cnm would be a novel risk factor for small vessel diseases. Streptococcus mutans is a major pathogen responsible for dental caries that can cause bacteremia by brushing or flossing as well as tooth extraction. Multicentral prospective investigation, RAMESSES study is now ongoing and will uncover the relationship among Cnm-expressing Streptococcus mutans, cerebral small vessel diseases and dementia.

Address correspondence to Dr. Satoshi Saito, Department of Neurology, National Cerebral and Cardiovascular Center （6-1 Kishibe-Shinmachi, Suita, Osaka 564-8565, Japan）