Could Infections Make Us Vulnerable to Alzheimer's Disease?
By Islam Hussein
Mounting evidence suggests that this neurodegenerative disease could be caused by inflammatory immune responses to pathogens that afflict brain tissue.
This Article From Issue
January-February 2021
Volume 109, Number 1
Page 18
In early 2019, one of my colleagues asked me a question over lunch that I’d never considered: Could antiviral drugs be useful for treating Alzheimer’s disease?
QUICK TAKE
- Most Alzheimer’s disease researchers have supported the amyloid cascade hypothesis, but mounting evidence suggests we don’t have the full story about what causes Alzheimer’s.
- A few researchers suspect other disease mechanisms, such as the theory that amyloidbeta might be a response to infection or other toxins, an immune protection that went too far.
- The infection hypothesis will be difficult to prove, but more researchers are exploring the idea in hope of finding ways to stop and reverse cognitive decline from Alzheimer’s disease
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