Page 23 - Brandon Sun - Healthy Lifestyles

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2019 • HEALTH • THE BRANDON SUN 23

» Continued from Page 22 testing the herpes drug valacy- Alzheimer’s-related genes. some people have lots of plaques
clovir in 130 people with mild “Maybe these are just op- and tangles but no dementia?
While it was known that Alzheimer’s who have evidence portunistic pathogens that A few years ago Massachu-
amyloid buildup drives tau of infection with certain herpes have space to spring up in the setts General researchers found
tangles, “we never had a good strains. brains of people affected with strikingly little inflammation
clue as to how it is doing that,” And Cortexyme Inc. is Alzheimer’s disease,” said Ben- surrounded all the gunky build-
Holtzman said. The new find- enrolling more than 500 ear- jamin Readhead of Arizona up in the resilient brains — but
ings “would argue that these ly-stage patients around the State University, who co-au- the Alzheimer’s-affected brains
cells are sort of a missing link.” country to test a drug that tar- thored that U.S. paper. But, harboured a lot.
Separately, biotech company gets potentially neuron-dam- “it looks at least plausible that Research since has found
Alector Inc. has begun first- aging substances produced by some of these pathogens are similar inflammatory effects
step patient testing of a drug gingivitis bacteria. capable of acting as accelerants with other forms of demen-
designed to boost TREM2 and Whether the germ theo- of disease.” tia — like vascular demen-
better activate microglia. ry is a worthwhile pursuit was tia, where tiny blood vessels
hotly debated at an interna- A COMMON DENOMINATOR that feed the brain are lost or
THE GERM CONUNDRUM tional Alzheimer’s Association One key commonality blocked, and dementias caused
Could gum disease or herpes meeting in July. One skeptic, among emerging Alzheimer’s by Lewy bodies or other tox-
be to blame? The idea that in- Dr. Todd Golde of the Univer- theories is how aggressively the ic proteins. A growing list of
fections earlier in life could set sity of Florida, cautioned that brain’s immune system defends genes linked to inflammatory
the stage for Alzheimer’s de- germs’ mere presence doesn’t itself — and thus how inflamed processes also may play a role.
cades later has simmered on the mean they caused dementia — it becomes. A handful of drugs are being
edge of mainstream medicine, they could be a consequence of Inflammation is a normal explored in the quest to tamp
but it’s getting new attention. it. part of the body’s response to down inflammation’s damaging
It sounds weird, but both the Still, a 2018 study from Tai- illness and injury, one method side without quashing its good
germ that causes gum disease wan offered a hint that treating of fighting infection or healing effects. Take those microglia,
and different strains of herpes herpes infection might lower wounds. But when inflamma- which Holtzman said “may be
viruses have been found in Alz- later dementia risk. And a U.S. tion is too strong, or doesn’t go a two-edged sword.”
heimer’s-affected brain tissue. study found certain herpes vi- away, it’s like friendly fire that
Researchers in New York are ruses affected the behaviour of harms cells. Remember how » The Associated Press

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