31 Scientists Push to Tie Microbes to Alzheimer’s Disease Including Lyme Disease
A journal article says herpes virus and Lyme disease bacteria are behind the mind-robbing illness, but not all researchers are convinced
March 21, 2016
Scientists have long puzzled over the root causes of Alzheimer’s disease, a devastating and typically fatal condition that currently denies more than five million Americans their cognition and memory. But in a provocative editorial soon to be published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, a cadre of scientists argue that the complex disease may have a surprisingly simple trigger: tiny brain-infecting microbes. This controversial view, which is not new, has long been dismissed as outlandish, but a growing body of work suggests it may be worth considering and further studying. If researchers can prove the theory and iron out the many argued-over details—both formidable tasks, as brain infections are difficult to study—Alzheimer’s could become a preventable illness.
The editorial, signed by 31 scientists around the world, argues that in certain vulnerable individuals—such as those with the APOE ε4 gene variant, a known Alzheimer’s risk factor—common microbial infections can infect the aging brain and cause debilitating damage.
I repost much of your information on the second FB page I oversee. I started 5 years ago when LYME DISEASE came roaring back into my life and I had no ‘one’ place to find out what was happening around the world in reference to LD. Thanks for the continually excellent material, postworthy every time.
Very interesting concept and theory of the amyloid plaque being a defensive mechanism of the brain against infection.
I hope there is money made available into this possibility. The brain fog and symptoms of ADD that Lyme b. patients experience is very worrisome and disturbing to the patient.