“You could vaccinate against those pathogens, and potentially prevent this problem arising later in life,”
I have seen firsthand the ravages of this disease, any step forward is very needed.
It’s supposedly a preventative measure, so how could one prove that this works if there’s no conclusive evidence that infection is the cause?
do yo immunize hundreds of thousands of people and hope that in 60 years they have less cases of MS than a similar sized group?
Putting a condom on my brain now.
[…]
TRUMP 2016!!!
missing link is missing?
Did you know there are animals with immune systems similar to our own, and they have shorter lifespans?
I think that if this is, actually, an effective preventative treatment for Alzheimer’s, then that’s awesome.
However, I’d just like to caution everybody that this looks like it’s barely past the hypothesis stage. We shouldn’t get excited until we have some large-scale, high-correlation studies that show that this is more than just a hypothesis.
I follow dementia news since my wife suffers from FTD, very different from Alzheimer’s. Researchers do not agree on what causes Alzheimer’s and whether the plaques are the cause or a way the brain protects itself. One drug that attacks plaques didn’t make it through trails because the recipients did worse, supporting the theory that plaques protect the brain. But we really don’t know, almost every week I come across reasonable theories for Alzheimer’s and other dementias but not are proven. Hopefully one of these theories will prove fruitful in providing help.
My family rarely makes it to their 80s. When we do: Alzheimers! I’m not optimistic about my chances in any case but new theories and potential treatments are always interesting.
Agreed. As a side note, I wonder if there really is only one cause of the plaques distinctive to Alzheimer’s.
Which makes it a perfect example of what many modern vaccines are : a very nice way to fill the coffers of pharma ccorporation.
Vaccines are dirt cheap.
Put your tinfoil hat back on and get back under your bridge.
I am not a doctor or a microbiologist, but surely vaccinations only work on viral diseases? Against bacteria the only effective treatment is antibiotics, which I recall reading somewhere recently aren’t as effective as they used to be, thanks in part to doctors prescribing them wholesale for viral infections.
Have you ever heard of the idea making money through selling large numbers at cheap price? Quite unheard of, I know.
In case you’re not aware, there are a number of countries where decisions are made by the single payer system to order (and so, pay) a very large number of vaccines against whatever the latest scare-mongering has brought into light.
Alzheimer is nothing new, and a real issue. However, talking about a vaccine whose effects might be seen a few decades in the future (if at all)?..
Color me skeptical (to put it mildly).
Nope, nope, nope. Vaccines work for both viruses and bacteria.
With our current medical technology, and if you are speaking specifically about internal medicine1 then yes that is basically true (although your body does have tons of natural defenses against both viruses and bacteria, the immune system is a beautifully complicated thing, for example heat also kills bacteria which is why your body gives you fevers, hell you can even prevent bacterial infection by allowing friendly bacteria to take up all the real estate). However vaccines are preventative. So ideally if you get a vaccinated for something like… Typhoid, Meningococcal, Tetanus, Tuberculosis, or Bubonic Plague (All of which are bacterial), you’ll never get it and thus never need induced antibiotics. Vaccines in general just help teach your immune system what a bad virus or bacteria looks like, and then the immune system does the dirty work
I am really oversimplifying this but think of a vaccine like a wanted poster, it shows your immune system, let’s just call it the sheriff, what the bad guys (unfriendly bacteria/viruses) who could be coming to town (your body) at some point, look like. This prevents the bad guys from arriving and having time to build up a gang while the sheriff waits for something bad to happen, because the sheriff now knows what the bad guys look like he can shoot first and ask questions later.
I think you meant bacterial instead of viral, but that is spot on. General over prescription and use of antibiotics in humans, but especially in agriculture and in meat, has caused some bacteria to start developing resistance to certain antibiotics, which is REALLY bad.
1If you aren’t specifically talking about internal medicine there are tons of different ways to kill bacteria, disinfectants such as Bleach, antiseptics such as Ethyl alcohol or Hydrogen Peroxide, radiation is also pretty effective at killing microorganisms (that’s why they treat so much food with it), and there are many many many more ways to prevent, kill, and slow the growth of microorganisms.
Eh, I was conflating two different things (because I hadn’t had my morning injection of caffeine yet): doctors prescribing antibiotics wholesale for minor ailments, and patients demanding antibiotics for viral infections.
Did you know that there is no single animal model that can capture the entire spectrum of heterogeneity of human MS and its variety in clinical and radiological presentation? Or that model organisms like Mice are not always reliable as preclinical models for human disease and scientific literature is littered with examples of drugs that worked well in animals but turned out to be ineffective in clinical trials on humans?
Animal models are great, but they`re just the first steps to developing a real treatment, which is why stories like this pop up every couple of weeks or so but never lead to any real treatment years later.
That being said, there`s no real reason why not to get some extra Vaccines.
I suspect not but we really don’t know. There seems to be interaction between genetics and environment. But many people with Alz do not have known genetic markers and do not have a family history of Alz. And there are people with genetic markers who never develop Alz. The identical twin sister of a friend of mine died from Alz a few years ago (she started showing signs of Alz in her 40s or 50s), my friend has no sign of Alz. There is so much that we do not know.
don’t get a brain infection
Platonic ideal of uncontroversial advice.
