UTIs can cause symptoms exactly like Alzheimer's, so I'm sure that sparked the idea. My grandmother actually developed Alzheimer's, I can't help but feel it might have been set on by a long standing UTI that the Dr never caught or treated (her Doctor was an old quack from everything I know.) Then again, her sister also has it, so it could also just be genetic. I do hope they figure it out, it's too late for my grandmother, but it's a big drain on everyone and when my grandmother does "break through" briefly, she is basically begging to die. Wouldn't wish it on anyone.
Some previous discussion of an earlier paper that suggested a fungal infection may be to blame:<p><a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10401344" rel="nofollow">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10401344</a><p>Very interesting to see more suggestive evidence from another group!
> The proteins were traditionally thought to be garbage that accumulates in the brain with age.<p>OK, but now:<p>> Not everyone who has had a brain infection develops Alzheimer’s, though. Why would some be more vulnerable than others? According to the new theory, it probably has to do with the brain’s ability to clear out the balls of beta amyloid after they have killed microbes, Dr. Tanzi said. For example, it is known that people with a gene called ApoE2 have brains that are good at sweeping out plaque, and have a low risk of Alzheimer’s in old age. Those with a different version, ApoE4, are inefficient in removing plaque and have a high risk of Alzheimer’s.<p>"Clearing out" seems a lot like getting rid of garbage ;)
it looks like IMMUNOLOGY is going to rule them all (well, most) of the medicine: cardiovascular diseases, cancers, allergies, diabetes, and now Alzheimer's.
I find it interesting that at one time, arterial "plaque" was also considered to be some sort of residue or trash. Analysis of the plaque revealed high levels of cholesterol, so the "trash" was obviously caused by the cholesterol, probably by eating too much of it. This message was no doubt approved by the tobacco industry, which produces a zero-cholesterol product that is nevertheless highly damaging to the arteries.<p>Now many doctors have changed their understanding: arterial plaques are scar tissue and scar tissue happens to contain a lot of cholesterol. Anything that causes scarring - like high blood pressure - leaves these plaques. So really the plaques are the by-product of an underlying pathology, which themselves create a secondary pathology.<p>Likewise, perhaps, with Alzheimer's. The plaques in the brain are themselves a by-product of some other pathology. Solve the underlying pathology (or the body's response to it), and you solve Alzheimer's.
Hypothesized awhile back, though the candidate is different.
<a href="http://isteve.com/Infectious_Causation_of_Disease.pdf" rel="nofollow">http://isteve.com/Infectious_Causation_of_Disease.pdf</a>