Neuroinflammtion theory for Alzheimer's strikes a familiar note for pwME

Neuroinflammation findings with Alzheimer's, strikes a familiar note for pwME regarding our own neurological symptoms. A CBC radio program aired on Quirks and Quarks on December 8, 2018, discusses the theory of amyloid-beta plaques in Alzheimer's, protecting the brain from infection:

https://www.cbc.ca/radio/quirks/hav...new-theory-challenges-the-old-story-1.4935121

Points from the radio program;

- " The protein that forms Alzheimer's plaques might be trying to protect your brain against infection."

- "For more than two decades, the conventional wisdom about Alzheimer's disease has been that the plaques in the brain that lead to the disease were caused by a protein that went rogue. The problem with this theory is that nobody has been able to explain why this protein, the amyloid-beta peptide, caused these plaques to begin with...none of our attempts to fight these plaques have led to any improvement for dementia patients."

"New theory gaining traction": amyloid-beta proteins may not be bad - they may be performing a protective role against infection."

Dr. Robert Moir, assistant professor of neurobiology at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital said "amyloid-beta protein was 100 times better than penicillin at killing some pathogens...it's pretty hard to find an amyloid plaque that doesn't have some sort of microbe in it."

Dr. Moir's December 2018 article in ScienceDirect/Alzheimer's & Dementia:

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S155252601833228X

Points include:

- " Amyloid-beta oligomerization is not intrinsically pathological
- Amyloidosis emerges as an innate immune pathway
- Pathogens can see beta-amyloid deposition
-Antimicrobial protection hypothesis of AD describes this emerging model" (emphasis added)

In the radio program, Dr. Moir mentioned examples of neuro-infection with Herpes simplex, and candida.

 

The failure of several major drug trials for AD was partially attributed to insufficient basic biological research.