8 replies to this topic

[Healthy Almonds]

In this recent NPR article, an infectious cause of Alzheimer's Disease is discussed https://www.npr.org/...-fresh-interest

 

Dr. Leslie Norins is willing to hand over $1 million of his own money to anyone who can clarify something: Is Alzheimer's disease, the most common form of dementia worldwide, caused by a germ?

By "germ" he means microbes like bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites. In other words, Norins, a physician turned publisher, wants to know if Alzheimer's is infectious.

"It appeared that many of the reported characteristics of Alzheimer's disease were compatible with an infectious process," Norins tells NPR. "I thought for sure this must have already been investigated, because millions and millions of dollars have been spent on Alzheimer's research."

"From a two-year review of the scientific literature, I believe it's now clear that just one germ — identity not yet specified, and possibly not yet discovered — causes most AD. I'm calling it the 'Alzheimer's Germ.' "

 

 

The hypothesis that Staphylococcus aureus is responsible for Alzheimer's is supported by available scientific literature

• Amyloid-beta, a protein linked to Alzheimer’s, is antimicrobial. Meaning it’s developing in the brain to protect against infection

• The cell wall of Staphylococcus aureus stimulates the activity of Amyloid-beta

• Amyloid-beta has been shown to kill Staphylococcus aureus. See this graph for its anti-Staph ability

• The skin disease Roseacea is linked to a slight increase in Alzheimer's risk. Staphylococcus aureus is a major cause of skin diseases

• It is possible that a pathogen that causes a sinus infection can travel to the brain

• Pneumonia is a frequent cause of death for those suffering from Alzheimer's Disease. S. aureus is a major cause of pneumonia.

Edited by Healthy Almonds, 18 September 2018 - 08:53 PM.

[QuestforLife]

Causal or only contributory, that is the question.

 

I don't think there is much doubt about infection being involved now, it only remains to determine how important it is - whether infection or infections are the major cause of Alzheimer's disease, or whether it merely exacerbates the decline in the microglia population that would happen eventually anyway even in the uninfected..

[Mind]

At this point in Alzheimer's research it seems there is likely not one "cause", but an interplay pathologies that accelerate mental decline in some individuals.

 

Remember from the Mankkato nun study that many people can have the internal biological/cellular signs of Alzheimer's but not display the outward signs of the disease (mental decline). https://www.longecit...rs/#entry282609

[QuestforLife]

It is probably a range of factors with age and immune health being two of the most important. Rather like playing a lot of basketball can ruin your knees, especially with age, but not always, depending on the genetics of the individual, diet and lifestyle, etc.

 

 

[Healthy Almonds]

I believe the evidence is compelling enough to suggest, if the infection theory of Alzheimer's Disease is true, that S. aureus is responsible for a majority of those cases.

 

Examining brain tissue under the microscope would be a way to check for the presence of bacteria. Curiously, typing "Alzheimers histology" and performing a Google image search shows a surprising number of Alzheimer's tissue containing cocci-like structures. The cocci-like structures appear to be similar in shape and size to Staphylococcus bacteria.

[Healthy Almonds]

Ongoing research, discussed at this link, https://www.sciencem...home-our-brains, has shown the presence of bacteria in the brain tissue of 34/34 people.

 

The researchers found bacteria in both healthy brains and brains from those with schizophrenia. They mentioned three regions of the brain that had high concentrations of bacteria:

1. Substantia nigra. Damage to this region has been shown to be associated with Parkinson’s Disease. https://medlineplus....pages/19515.htm
2. Prefontal cortex. Damage to this region is associated with various disorders such as dementia and schizophrenia https://www.ncbi.nlm...54/#sec1-8title
3. Hippocampus. This region is one of the first areas affected by Alzheimer’s Disease. https://www.verywell...campus-p2-98810

Histology image searches of those brain regions show the same cocci-like structures in abundance.

 

Additionally, there is proximity of the substantia nigra and prefontal cortex to the sinuses. The hippocampus is near the ears. The sinuses and ears are potential colonization sites of S. aureus and may act as routes of entry of the bacteria to the brain.

 

[xEva]

if it were just one specific pathogen, it would have been identified long ago. Also, don't forget the viruses. There is also plenty of research that shows correlation with common oral bacteria like in gum disease (which is also strongly associated with cardio-vascular disease). 
 
The idea that the Alzheimer's may be due to an infection first appeared in 2006, in an obscure paper that spoke about the similarity of the amyloid-beta with antimicrobial peptides. This was confirmed in 2010 The Alzheimer's Disease-Associated Amyloid β-Protein Is an Antimicrobial Peptide

 

It's interesting to see the titles of the papers that reference it in pubmed. One of the latest ones again implicates Chlamydia pneumoniae. 

 

and I just saw and am about to read this one: Role of Microbes in the Development of Alzheimer’s Disease: State of the Art – An International Symposium Presented at the 2017 IAGG Congress in San Francisco, 2018

 

 

Mind and QuestForLife@ on the pubmed ref list there seems a paper for you too: Inflammation: the link between comorbidities, genetics, and Alzheimer’s disease, 2018

Edited by xEva, 24 November 2018 - 03:01 PM.

[MikeDC]

Inflammation, infections, viruses, and aging all contribute to NAD+ decline and neuron death. So NAD+ precursors should slow down the progression of Alzheimer’s.

[MikeDC]

https://www.biospace...es-and-new-hope