Comments on: Alzheimer’s Spreads Like a Virus From Neuron to Neuron, Studies Show

By: Brian Too

Brian Too — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 00:23:34 +0000

Actually Alzheimer’s is an infectious disease, just not in the manner ordinarily meant. This study is showing that Alzheimer’s is infectious at the cellular level.

Although Alzheimer’s is not ordinarily infectious from individual to individual, it likely is under extraordinary circumstances. Person to person transmission has been demonstrated for Kuru. Inter-species transmission is known for Mad Cow. All these diseases are based upon prions and the transmission mechanism is consumption of an infected brain.

Finally, I am a Human brian. Ich bin ein Human brian!!
:-)

By: PeterC

PeterC — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 18:36:52 +0000

There is a potential link between activity of some viruses to raise cytoplasmic Ca levels and in ability of tau itself to raise Ca. Add data the show elevated cyto Ca activates tau phosphoryation and dephosphorylation and we have the basis of a sustained propagating mechanism. The old olfactory nerve studies may have revealed a viral initiator that is no longer required once tau-Ca feedback becomes self-sustaining. Need hardly add that elevated Ca would enhance synaptic activity and elevate post-synaptic Ca.

Free radical mechanisms absolutely require their measurement in AD. Ischaemic heart research went through that craze in ’80s until measurement in ischeamic-rperfused heart failed to reveal levels of ROS needed to produce obseved injury.

By: Lane Simonian

Lane Simonian — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 15:33:32 +0000

Peroxynitrites have been implicated in the hyperphosphorylation and nitration of tau proteins. Nitrated tau proteins misfold and apparently can spread to other parts of the brain. Peroxynitrite oxidation can lead to the misfolding of prions and of the superoxide dismutase which may also spread to other parts of the brain leading to more peorxynitrite formation. Alzheimer’s disease is not an infectious disease. In addition, peroxynitrite scavengers can likely be used to treat the disease.

By: Gold

Gold — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 06:04:54 +0000

Interesting read but several questions still remain.
Such as, what is causing the Tau to spread, some still unknown NANO virus or Bacteria?

By: Gold

Gold — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 06:03:57 +0000

Interesting read but several questions still remain.
Such as, what is causing the Tau to spread, some still unknown NANO virus or Bacteria?

By: Gold

Gold — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 06:03:35 +0000

Interesting read but several questions still remain.
Such as, what is causing the Tau to spread, some still unknown NANO virus or Bacteria?

By: Edward

Edward — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 14:01:26 +0000

I’m with Night-Gaunt; this is only half the story and not even the more interesting half. I don’t understand how an article – even a short one – about a misfolded protein propagating itself from neighbor to neighbor and causing the same symptoms that appear in “mad cow disease” and Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease can fail to mention the word “prion” or those other diseases, at least in passing. But still a fascinating result.

By: mb md

mb md — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 04:00:49 +0000

Neurons communicate in more ways than chemical neurotransmission. Neurons in a circuit exhange trophic factors and small proteins, like neuropeptides, can diffuse through a circuit. Without reading the paper, this seems to be what they are referring to.

Also, viruses are able to spread along neurons, hence the dermatomal pattern seen in shingles.

By: Laura

Laura — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 19:55:46 +0000

Hmm… personally, I thought it was implying the spread of a virus on a human-to-human scale; however, if I am incorrect, you provide an excellent point, Tomek.

By: Night-Gaunt

Night-Gaunt — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 19:27:19 +0000

Aren’t prions a refolded brain protein? And doesn’t it somehow cause other normal brain proteins to reform like it? And it isn’t even a living thing? Didn’t some Canadians doctors do brain autopsies on previously diagnosed “Alzheimers” patientsw (after death) and found it to be really C-Y (human spongiform encepalophy) in them about 6 years ago? What does that tell us?

By: Tomek

Tomek — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 18:33:38 +0000

This is feels very misleading to me…

Alzheimer has always had to do with proteins that are misfolded that propagate further misfolded proteins.

So it makes sense they spread from neighbor to neighbor.

But how is that a metaphor for viruses? Thats not how viruses spread. They either explode in a bundle of viruses, and possibly infect many cells with virus shrapnel, or they replicate infected cells, and populate areas with infected cell (slower).

Maybe…am I misunderstanding the article?

By: Tau of brian

Tau of brian — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 14:27:11 +0000

Interesting article on how Alzheimer’s propagates. However, noticed a typo in 2nd word of last paragraph. “Human brian imaging studies”.