Reevaluating the Microbial Infection Link to Alzheimer's Disease

• Published in: Journal of Alzheimer's disease Vol. 73; no. 1; p. 59
• Main Authors: Schnaider, Lee, Arnon, Zohar A, Gazit, Ehud
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Netherlands 01.01.2020
• Subjects: Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Alzheimer Disease - etiology; Gingivitis - complications; Gingivitis - microbiology; Herpesviridae Infections - complications; Herpesviridae Infections - virology; Humans; Infections - complications; neurodegeneration; self-assembly; Alzheimer’s disease; antimicrobial peptides; infectious diseases
• ISSN: 1875-8908
• DOI: 10.3233/JAD-190765

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common cause of dementia. Despite substantial investment in research, there are no current effective treatments to prevent or delay the onset and development of AD and the exact molecular mechanism of AD pathogenesis is still not fully understood. Researchers have long suspected that microbial infections may play a role in AD; however, this hypothesis has been greatly overlooked for decades, only recently gaining a traction and recognition within the broad scientific community due to new overwhelming evidence on the association of various pathogenic microbes and AD. Here, we provide our perspective on the significance of these findings, which shed light on the interplay between molecular self-assembly, neurodegeneration, and antimicrobial peptides, as well as propose an amendment to the amyloid cascade hypothesis. It is important to note that this association does not yet prove a causal link, but these reports warrant a thorough investigation into the microbial infection-AD hypothesis which might in turn deliver the elusive therapeutic target the scientific community has been so desperately searching for.