New track in infectious theory. Alzheimer’s disease could ultimately be contagious and transmitted via certain medical devices.
new evidence support the idea that the proteins responsible for Alzheimer’s disease could, in rare cases, be contagious. This degenerative pathology would then be transmitted via certain medical treatments.
This research is part of an article published in Nature in 2015. A team of researchers told of having looked into eight patients with Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD). These people had all received growth hormones from deceased people contaminated with prions, infectious proteins responsible for said brain pathology.
Growth hormones
The researchers then found that these people also had deposits of beta-amyloid proteins in their brains, which are now identified as the first warning signs of Alzheimer’s disease. From there, a new team investigated the links between growth hormones and amyloid deposits.
To do this, they injected animals with an amyloid-like protein, similar to those found in the original hormone therapy. The mice then also developed amyloid deposits in their brains, which shows that the transmission of these proteins is entirely possible.
Herpes and periodontitis
Dwarfism, chronic renal insufficiency, severe burns, bedsores, cachexia… Growth hormone injections are used in many situations, but those used today are now made from synthetic hormones. So the question is whether other medical treatments still used today could spread amyloid proteins. For researchers, it is important to examine these risks, especially in neurosurgery. “We are also seeking to better understand the cause and consequences of beta-amyloid deposition in the brain,” concludes study director Silvia Purro.
Recently, studies have concluded that herpes and periodontitis (a gum disease, editor’s note) could also be the cause of Alzheimer’s disease, following the same infectious and contagious path. Today in France, Alzheimer’s disease directly or indirectly affects 3 million people, and nearly 225,000 new cases are diagnosed each year. By 2020, if research does not progress, France will have 1,200,000 sick people.
.