When you pick your nose, a bacterium could enter and travel through the olfactory nerve and then enter the brain, which would cause telltale signs of Alzheimer’s disease.
- In France, it is estimated that 1.2 million people have Alzheimer’s disease.
- The olfactory nerve in the nose is directly exposed to the air and offers a short path to the brain, a path that bypasses the blood-brain barrier.
“Pickling and pulling out nose hairs is not a good idea”, said James St John, director of the Clem Jones Center for Neurobiology and Stem Cell Research. In a study published in the journal Scientific Reports, the researcher and his team revealed that picking your nose increases the risk of Alzheimer’s disease. To reach this conclusion, the scientists performed an experiment on mice and examined their brains.
Alzheimer’s: picking your nose causes chlamydia pneumoniae infection
According to the findings, chlamydia pneumoniae, a respiratory tract pathogen, can infect the central nervous system when picking the nose. Clearly, this bacterium can cross the olfactory nerve of the nose and enter the brain of rodents in 72 hours. According to the authors, brain cells react by producing the beta-amyloid protein, which is a warning sign of Alzheimer’s disease.
The infection also leads to dysregulation of the main pathways involved in the pathogenesis of the neurodegenerative disease, 7 and 28 days after inoculation. In addition, damage to the nasal epithelium causes increased infection of peripheral nerves and the olfactory bulb. “Picking the nose and plucking hair damages the mucous membrane, which increases the number of bacteria that can enter the brain”explained the team.
“These same bacteria are present in humans”
“We are the first to show that chlamydia pneumoniae can pass directly through the nose and into the brain where it can cause conditions that resemble Alzheimer’s disease. We have seen this happen in mice and the evidence is potentially frightening for human beings too”, said Professor James St John in a statement.
Now scientists want to conduct research in humans to confirm that the same pathway works the same way. “What we do know is that these same bacteria are present in humans, but we haven’t yet discovered how they reach the brain,” they continued.
Alzheimer’s disease: olfactory tests after 60 years to detect it
According to Professor James St John, olfactory tests carried out from the age of 60 could make it possible to detect Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. “Once you’re over 65 the risk goes up, but we’re looking at other causes as well, because it’s not just age but also environmental exposure,” concluded the scientists.