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| Science & Technology | |
| Alzheimer's can be spread BETWEEN humans: Pioneering study reveals at least five people have 'caught' memory-robbing illness - as scientists warn hundreds more may be 'at risk' | |
| 2024-01-30 | |
Experts have found evidence of at least five people 'catching' the memory-robbing disorder from now-banned hormone treatments. The patients were among 1,848 people injected with growth hormones riddled with toxic amyloid-beta protein 'seeds', or prions, as children. All five came down with the same rare early-onset form of the devastating dementia condition. Others who received the same treatment are now considered 'at risk'. Between 1958 and 1985, abnormally short children in the UK and the US were given hormones harvested from cadavers to help spur their growth. The technique was then banned and doctors instead used synthetic hormones after it emerged that some batches were contaminated with prions that led to a fatal and incurable brain disorder called Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD). CJD itself is closely related to 'mad cow' disease. Academics now believe other medical and surgical procedures might carry a risk of spreading Alzheimer's as prions — which accumulate in the brain and kill neurons —can survive hospital sterilisation methods. As prions accumulate in the brain, the NHS says plaque deposits may appear in the brain. Abnormal build-ups of proteins in and around neurons is thought to be what causes Alzheimer's. Professor John Collinge, of University College London, said action must be taken to prevent accidental transmission in the future. He said: 'These patients were given a specific and long-discontinued medical treatment which involved injecting them with material now known to have been contaminated with disease-related proteins. 'We are now planning to look at ways of destroying prions from surgical equipment, as they can resist normal decontamination methods.' Alzheimer's was previously believed to come in two forms — a 'sporadic' variant suffered by thousands of people over the age of 65, which is by far the most common, and a genetic early-onset type that runs in families. The UCL scientists say they have now identified a third variant, which is slightly different from the others and very rare, which can be passed from one person to another. Batches of the infected growth hormone were stored in a Department of Health archive as a dried powder. UCL scientists were allowed to test the decades-old powder on mice and found it triggered the production of Alzheimer's-causing proteins. However, Professor Collinge said the at-risk group is extremely small — made up of patients who have had certain neurosurgical procedures, tissue transplantation or organ donation. He said: 'There is a risk group out there. Those who were given the infected growth hormone were all notified many years ago that they were at risk of developing CJD. 'There is now a possible risk of them developing Alzheimer's. But these risks are not possible to quantify at the moment.' Researchers are currently monitoring the patients to study what is happening in their brains and catch any problems early. Professor Collinge added: 'I should emphasise these are very rare occurrences. You can't "catch" Alzheimer's, it is not transmissible in the sense of a viral or bacterial infection. 'These rare transmission routes are where people have been accidentally injected with infected human tissue extracts, and the majority of this relates to medical procedures that are no longer used. 'From a public health point of view, this will probably affect a relatively small number of patients.' SCIENTISTS CREATE BLOOD TEST FOR ALZHEIMER'S | |
| Posted by:Skidmark |
| #9 And then, all of a sudden, everyone two circles from Brandon totally forgot everything since 2019. |
| Posted by: swksvolFF 2024-01-30 11:59 |
| #8 Amyloids were ruled out as a cause of Dementia a few years ago. Early results looked promising, but nothing came of it. You really have to vet stories in The Daily Fail carefully, because they value hysteria far more than facts. |
| Posted by: EMSArtifact 2024-01-30 11:54 |
| #7 No, no,...it's the Mail. |
| Posted by: Skidmark 2024-01-30 10:30 |
| #6 Possibly 6 people (they're not sure) out of 1848 who may have been injected with adulterated drugs maybe 40 years ago. All subjects were already in unusual growth situations. 1 whole study. Oooh, science. Actually, Oooh, journalism. |
| Posted by: ed in texas 2024-01-30 09:45 |
| #5 |
| Posted by: Cholutle Thrans9751 2024-01-30 09:38 |
| #4 ^ see the Kardashians. |
| Posted by: Skidmark 2024-01-30 08:05 |
| #3 OTOH__ Stupidity is catching |
| Posted by: Mercutio 2024-01-30 06:14 |
| #2 Oh so now we're 'accidently' giving people kuru....and people wonder why trust in doctors is in freefall. |
| Posted by: Silentbrick 2024-01-30 00:49 |
| #1 Prions ride again? |
| Posted by: Grom the Reflective 2024-01-30 00:41 |