BOSTON: New research follows recent findings from the U.K. and Switzerland suggesting the protein “plaque” tied to Alzheimer’s can, in fact, be passed between human brains.
If so, that has real implications for surgery, especially since “misfolded” proteins — like the beta-amyloid implicated in Alzheimer’s — are not easily eradicated from hospital instruments, three Canadian researchers note in a recent commentary.
“If that (transmission) is shown in just one case… public-health thinking would need to rise to meet that challenge,” said Dr. Michael Coulthart, a Public Health Agency of Canada scientist. “It’s very important to get ahead as far as you can of something that may be an issue in even a few cases.”
Scientists stress a number of caveats: the evidence of Alzheimer’s transmissibility is far from definitive; even if that research is borne out, the circumstances in which transmission could happen would likely be rare; and the best way to curb the risk of dementia remains much simpler: eating a healthy diet and exercising.
Still, modern public health strives to predict possible threats – like HIV-tainted blood — before they overtake us, said Dr. Coulthart.
“You’re always looking for things that might be coming,” he said. “Precaution has become part of the basic name of the game in public health”…