Tongue Microorganisms Can Help Diagnose Heart Failure, Medical Experts Say

In a recent research presentation, scientists shared the results of studying the correlation between microorganisms on an individual's tongue and their chances of being diagnosed with heart failure. The study was presented at the European Society of Cardiology's scientific platform, the Heart Failure Association Discoveries.

Dr. Tianhui Yuan, from the Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, said that there is a clear contrast between the tongues of healthy individuals and those with chronic heart failure. 'Normal tongues are pale red with a pale white coating. Heart failure patients have a redder tongue with a yellow coating and the appearance changes as the disease becomes more advanced.'

She continued that her team was able to analyze 'the composition, quantity, and dominant bacteria of the tongue coating' in heart failure patients compared to healthy people.

Cancer and the Immune System

Another research paper from 2019 confirmed that the microbiome data on the tongue can set apart healthy people from patients with pancreatic head cancer. The study involved 30 patients and genetic sequencing of an RNA code that is useful to identify bacteria (16S rRNA).

Since certain bacteria are associated with the immune system, their study suggested that a microbial imbalance could result in inflammation and disease. The immune system and inflammation are also linked to heart failure.

Lanjuan Li of Zhenjiang University in China said, 'If an association between the discriminatory bacteria and pancreatic cancer is confirmed in larger studies, this could potentially lead to the development of new microbiome-based early diagnostic or preventive tools for the disease.' This can lead to new developments with antibiotics and immunotherapies, as well as designing probiotics to help prevent pancreatic cancer and potentially, heart failure.

An earlier study in 2017 linked heart failure to specific immune system mechanisms. The team designed several models to discover distinct biomarkers of heart disease for the development of infection-targeting drugs.

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Tongue Microbes

In the new study, 42 volunteers with chronic heart failure participated in trials alongside 28 healthy individuals. None of them had oral, tongue, or dental diseases, nor had used antibiotics and immunosuppressants prior to the experiments. There were also no pregnant participants or anyone with an upper respiratory tract infection.

Every morning before any oral hygiene practices or breakfast, they would take samples of the tongue coating with stainless steel spoons. Bacteria would then be identified using the 16S rRNA gene sequencing.

Results showed that those with chronic heart failure had the same types of microorganisms in the tongue coating samples. The healthy group also shared the same microbes with one another while there was no overlap of bacteria between the two groups.

Five various bacteria categories showed the differences between ill patients and healthy individuals. The team noticed a downward trend of Eubacterium, a common but microbiome, and Solobacterium in patients with increasing chronic heart failure.

Dr. Yuan said: "More research is needed, but our results suggest that tongue microbes, which are easy to obtain, could assist with wide-scale screening, diagnosis, and long-term monitoring of heart failure. The underlying mechanisms connecting microorganisms in the tongue coating with heart function deserve further study."