Lots of crazy reporting today about people catching Alzheimer’s during surgery. Some shameless outlets engaging in downright scaremongering as usual.
So what are the facts:
- Professor John Collinge, a world leading scientist in prion diseases (eg: mad cow disease) which spreads via a rogue protein and his group dissected a bunch of brains of people who had contracted prion disease similar to CJD.
- In some of these brains they saw some structures that resemble the brain of people with Alzheimer’
- None of these patients actually had Alzheimer’s
- If I wrote the headline I would have said “Prion disease can show amyloid deposits in brain” but then my job does not depend upon promoting my research 🙂
People might be able to contract Alzheimer’s during certain medical procedures, just like they can catch the brain disease CJD, say researchers.
Source: ‘Transmittable Alzheimer’s’ concept raised – BBC News
PSA: Claim of Alzheimer's spreading via surgery is speculative and hypothetical. Move on http://t.co/YExCDNIHGf
— Vishal Gulati (@vgul) September 10, 2015