Some cases of Alzheimer’s Disease that results in the loss of memory and cognitive skills (dementia) could be caused by infectious diseases and, therefore, be reversible.
A group of international scientists collaborating on potentially world-changing research have formed the Alzheimer’s Pathobiome Initiative (AlzPI) to understand the role of microbes in the brain, devise ways to diagnose and treat brain infections and identify preventative measures, including vaccines.
There is research to show that shingles vaccines have been successful in lowering the risk of dementia, for example.
Although there are inherited and ageing elements to the disease, there's an increasing body of research which points to microbial infections of the brain leading to dementia.
Finding evidence
A research paper entitled The remarkable complexity of the brain microbiome in health and disease looked into microbes in the human brain and their contribution to neurodegenerative conditions, supporting the contention that infection – perhaps associated with declining immunity with age – may contribute to the development of Alzheimer’s Disease.
Researchers discovered that some microbes are over-represented in Alzheimer’s brains, including the bacteria Streptococcus and Staphylococcus, as well as fungi from the Candida and Cryptococcus groups that are known to cause disease. Also, an algae-related species that needs more research was more abundant in Alzheimer’s Disease brain samples.
Numerous pathogens have been found to be more common in the brains of people who suffer from Alzheimer’s Disease than those who don’t, including Chlamydia pneumoniae, which causes respiratory infections.
Tailored treatments
The AlzPI says there's an urgent need for interdisciplinary collaboration, to test and validate the best methods to characterise the brain pathobiome and identify the least invasive biosample to be collected from patients to unveil microbial infection.
It also calls for a multi-centre study to test post mortem biosamples to reveal microbes. The findings could be used prospectively in patients with mild cognitive impairment or early Alzheimer’s Disease to reveal microbial infections and tailor treatment to potentially reverse dementia.
More: www.HCMmag.com/dementia2
