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We May Finally Know What Causes Alzheimer's -- and How To Stop It (newscientist.com)

Posted by msmash on from the marching-forward dept.

We may finally have found the long-elusive cause of Alzheimer's disease: Porphyromonas gingivalis, the key bacteria in chronic gum disease. New Scientist: That's bad, as gum disease affects around a third of all people. But the good news is that a drug that blocks the main toxins of P. gingivalis is entering major clinical trials this year, and research published Wednesday shows it might stop and even reverse Alzheimer's. There could even be a vaccine. Alzheimer's is one of the biggest mysteries in medicine. As populations have aged, dementia has skyrocketed to become the fifth biggest cause of death worldwide. Alzheimer's constitutes some 70 per cent of these cases and yet, we don't know what causes it.

6 of 208 comments (clear)

  1. Headline is a LIE, article makes that clear by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    "Poor oral health is a risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease. What’s not clear is whether gum disease causes the disorder or is merely a result"

    EDITORS, EDIT !

    1. Re:Headline is a LIE, article makes that clear by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Informative

      Did you read the *entire* article, or did you just stop when you got triggered?

      "Some brain samples from people without Alzheimer’s also had P. gingivalis and protein accumulations, but at lower levels. We already know that amyloid and tau can accumulate in the brain for 10 to 20 years before Alzheimer’s symptoms begin. This, says Lynch, shows P. gingivalis is a cause of Alzheimer’s, not a result."

  2. Re:Nonsense by MightyYar · · Score: 5, Informative

    Alzheimer's is distinct from vascular dementia. From this study:

    Metabolic syndrome was present in 15.8% of the study participants. The presence of metabolic syndrome increased the risk of incident vascular dementia but not Alzheimer's disease over 4 years, independent of sociodemographic characteristics and the apolipoprotein (apo) E4 allele.

    --
    W..w..W - Willy Waterloo washes Warren Wiggins who is washing Waldo Woo.
  3. Re:Is the bacteria the cause or symptom? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    Same with the beta-amyloid plaques found in the brain of Alzheimer's sufferers. I worked on a monoclonal antibody treatment about 10 years ago that targeted these clots. The antibodies broke them up good but did not alleviate the condition or prevent the plaques from returning. They were symptomatic rather than causative.

    Fact is, this is just another hypothesis among many. Other areas of interest are increased infection of herpes simplex (mouth sores) in the areas of the brain that are going bad. Antiviral trials are encouraging. Fungal infection has also been suggested since the disease is slow progressing like a fungal infection. Gum disease is just another hypothesis in a long line of em.

  4. Re:People, Just Floss by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 5, Informative

    I thought the culprit was metal, aluminum specifically from pots, un-coated aluminum cans, etc.,
    that found its way into the brain.

    No. This was debunked long ago.

    Myths about Alzheimers

  5. Re:Dementia is possible - just unproven by vux984 · · Score: 2, Informative

    I saw an article that noted that Trump's use of language had deteriorated substantially compared to when he was younger.

    https://www.statnews.com/2017/...