Researchers Detect Mouth Bacteria In Stroke Patients’ Brains

Bacteria commonly seen in the mouth has been found in the brains of people who have had a stroke, a new study shows.

The Finnish research group behind the new findings has been studying a possible association between bacterial infections and cardiovascular disease for more than 10 years. Their study, published May 23 in the Journal of the American Heart Association, looked for signs of bacteria in blood clots removed from 75 patients who were treated for an ischemic stroke at Tampere University Hospital in Finland between 2013 and 2017.

Ischemic stroke is caused by a blockage in a blood vessel in the brain. It accounts for about 87% of all strokes.

The study found that 84% of the participants, or 63 of them, had bacterial DNA in their blood clot. Among them, 59 had a strain of streptococci commonly found in the mouth that can cause infections if they get into the bloodstream.

The work is "the first to show common presence of [this] bacterial DNA in ischemic stroke patients," said Olli Patrakka, the study's lead author.

The bacteria involved, called viridans streptococci, are believed to cause endocarditis, an infection of the lining, valves or muscles of the heart.

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