Research Paper Title

Is Alzheimer’s Disease Transmissible in Humans?

Abstract

Alzheimer’s disease (AD), the most common type of dementia, has been identified as a protein misfolding disease with the accumulation of abnormally folded amyloid-β (Aβ) protein and hyperphosphorylated tau protein in the brain.

Aβ is known to play a crucial role in the pathogenesis of AD. Deposition of Aβ protein in the brain parenchyma causing senile plaques is the obligatory event in AD pathogenesis.

Aβ protein is also deposited in the media and adventitia of small and mid-sized cerebral arteries leading to cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA), which is also present in the large majority of AD patents. Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) is a typical misfolded protein disease that can spread through blood transfusions or meat products contaminated with prion proteins.

AD shares some characteristics with prion diseases, considering that Aβ is prone to misfold and seed the aggregation like prions. It has been suggested that Aβ is transmissible within the brains of AD patient.

Reference

Bu, X-L., Li, W-W. & Wang, Y-J. (2019) Is Alzheimer’s Disease Transmissible in Humans? Neuroscience Bulletin. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12264-019-00382-9.