More Theorizing on the Role of Pathogens in Alzheimer ' s Disease

The dominant approach to Alzheimer's research and the development of potential therapies involves finding ways to clear out aggregates of amyloid and tau that build up in the brain. This has proven challenging, however. It is too early to say in certainty whether lack of tangible progress on this front is because it is a hard problem, or because this isn't the most effective direction. The weight of evidence strongly suggests the former is the case, but that hasn't stopped delayed progress from spurring the development of a great many alternative hypotheses as to the cause of Alzheimer's disease. One line of thinking suggests that pathogens are more important than presently accepted to be the case, and paints Alzheimer's disease as a consequence of the progressive age-related failure of the immune system to deal with specific types of invading microbe. The paper here is one example of the type. The infectious nature of Alzheimer's disease (AD) was revealed when spirochetes (both dental and Lyme) were shown to be present in the brains of affected patients. The dental microbes travel from the oral cavity during times of disruption of the dental plaque and subsequent bacteremia following dental procedures. Lyme borrelia travel to the brain via the blood stream during the secondary stage of that disease. The spirochetes have an affinity for neural tissue and pass through the blood-brain barrier easily. Once the spirochetes are in the brain, they attach, divide (albeit ve...
Source: Fight Aging! - Category: Research Authors: Tags: Daily News Source Type: blogs