March 10, 2016.
In an editorial published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s
Disease, scientists and clinicians working in
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) voiced concern over largely ignored research
indicating that certain microbes — namely, the herpes simplex virus type 1
(HSV1), Chlamydia pneumoniae, and several types of spirochaete — might be
involved in Alzheimer’s pathogenesis. The editorial stressed the importance of
further clinical research to determine if antimicrobial agents
offer a successful pathway for new AD treatments with, importantly,
relevance to the treatment of other neurological diseases, such as Parkinson’s.
The full editorial, “Microbes and Alzheimer’s Disease,” is
available online.
The authors stress the need to re-evaluate the “status quo”
theory of Alzheimer’s pathological causes, suggesting enough studies already indicate
a possible infectious etiology. Deposition of amyloid-β (Aβ) peptide and
abnormal forms of tau protein are established hallmarks of the disease, but it
is still unknown if these are actually causes of Alzheimer’s. The authors
summarize and comment on the extensive research implicating microbes
like Chlamydia pneumoniae in the development of AD, dividing the
studies into evidence for an infectious/immune component, evidence for
causation, and evidence regarding the role of amyloid protein.
Moreover, the authors stress that such studies,
currently about 100 on HSV1 alone, have been largely ignored and dismissed
as controversial. Despite theories dating back almost three decades, when
the first observations of HSV1 in AD brains were reported, clinical trial
funding propositions have been largely refused. This failure, they noted,
stands in stark contrast to the funding of over 400 unsuccessful clinical
trials based on other concepts over the last decade. The authors also compare
the opposition to the fierce resistance that first met suggestions, since
proven, that certain types of viruses could cause cancer.
“We are saying there is incontrovertible evidence that
Alzheimer’s Disease has a dormant microbial component, and that this can be
woken up by iron dysregulation. Removing this iron will slow down or prevent
cognitive degeneration — we can’t keep ignoring all of the evidence,” Professor
Douglas Kell of The University of Manchester’s School of Chemistry and
Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, an author of the editorial, said in
a press release. He
further stressed that sterile red blood cells have been shown to contain
dormant microbes, an important factor for blood transfusions.
Thirty-one scientists and clinicians are cited as
co-authors on the editorial.
http://parkinsonsnewstoday.com/2016/03/10/landmark-editorial-identifies-microbes-as-major-cause-of-alzheimers-disease/
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