Brain abscesses where no primary source of infection identified have higher counts of Streptococcus anginosus<\/em><\/p>\n<\/h3>\n By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter<\/b><\/p>\n <\/b><\/p>\n MONDAY, Dec. 19, 2022 (HealthDay News) — Bacteria usually found in the oral cavity are often found in cases of brain abscess where no clear cause has been identified, according to a study published in the January issue of the Journal of Dentistry<\/em>.<\/p>\n Holly Roy, B.M., B.Ch., from the University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust in the United Kingdom, and colleagues conducted a retrospective analysis using data from 87 patients admitted to a surgical unit with brain abscesses during a 16-year period. For patients where no primary source of infection was identified (NSI; 52 cases) for their brain abscess or where an infective source was identified (ISI; 35 cases), species of bacteria were categorized using microbiological data obtained from abscess sampling and peripheral culture.<\/p>\n The researchers found that compared with the NSI group, brain abscesses from the ISI group demonstrated a significantly lower preponderance of oral bacteria (eight versus 29). In addition, brain abscesses from the NSI group had significantly higher counts of Streptococcus anginosus<\/em> compared with those from the ISI group. For both ISI and NSI, brain abscesses were most common in the frontal and parietal lobes.<\/p>\n “This present study demonstrates that bacteria usually found in the oral cavity, and associated with oral and dental disease, are also found in brain abscesses and make up a large proportion of bacterial subgroups in brain abscesses where no definite infective source could be identified,” the authors write. “This study is a first step in identifying potential links between the oral microbiome and brain abscesses at the time of intracranial infection.”<\/p>\n