Article: A bug for Alzheimer’s?

[AndyPR]

An article I found interesting in of itself but also with similarities to the situation with ME.

Most proponents of the pathogen hypothesis don’t suggest that infections work alone to cause Alzheimer’s disease, nor do they think that Alzheimer’s can be ‘caught’ like a cold. They instead argue that infections – perhaps a number of different types – can spark a cascade of events that, over time, can culminate in the disease. ‘These microbes might not serve as specific causes, per se, of the disease, but rather as contributors to a degenerative process,’ says Mady Hornig, director of translational research at Columbia University’s Center for Infection and Immunity.

Why do researchers reject the pathogen hypothesis for a lack of evidence yet support a theory that lacks supporting data too? In a reply to one of Miklossy’s early papers, a group of Alzheimer’s researchers explained that they ‘remain skeptical and even incredulous at the thought that such an etiology for such an important and exhaustively studied disease could have been overlooked by so many including ourselves’. Put another way: conceding that the pathogen hypothesis has merit means admitting that the field has been wrong about Alzheimer’s for a very long time.

https://aeon.co/essays/how-microbial-infections-might-cause-alzheimers-disease

 

[aquariusgirl]

http://time.com/4254778/medical-experts-herpes-alzheimers-link/

 

[AndyPR]

The Microbe Discovery Project have written a blog based on this article http://microbediscovery.org/2017/01...ns-changing-how-we-understand-the-microbiome/

The following is a summary with excerpts from Aeon’s “A bug for Alzheimer’s?” which discusses how microbes may be implicated in a chronic brain disease. It may seem not so relevant to ME/CFS, but CII’s own Dr. Mady Hornig discusses the strategies and challenges associated with linking microbiome differences or infections (even infections outside the brain!) to complex brain disorders.

Alzheimer’s disease is poorly understood, but the current accepted theory is that it’s caused by the build-up of beta-amyloid plaques in the brain. To oversimplify, think of beta-amyloid as a gluey substance that kills off brain cells and eventually leads to the hallmark cognitive problems associated with Alzheimer’s. But, new research indicates that the currently-accepted theory of beta-amyloid plaques causing Alzheimer’s disease may not be correct.