Alzheimer's Cause and Cure May Have Been Found

[uniderth]

https://www.newscientist.com/article/2191814-we-may-finally-know-what-causes-alzheimers-and-how-to-stop-it/

If you bled when you brushed your teeth this morning, you might want to get that seen to. We may finally have found the long-elusive cause of Alzheimer’s disease: Porphyromonas gingivalis, the key bacteria in chronic gum disease.

That’s bad, as gum disease affects around a third of all people. But the good news is that a drug that blocks the main toxins of P. gingivalis is entering major clinical trials this year, and research published today shows it might stop and even reverse Alzheimer’s. There could even be a vaccine.

The scary thing is that if this is correct, many people already have the cause in their body. It's just a matter of you dying before you deteriorate.

 

[StarCruiser]

Yep - 200 or so years ago - wouldn't have seen this happen since most folks didn't live beyond about 60 or so. Poor dental hygiene back then was VERY common but again, you didn't live long enough to get Alzheimer's and Dementia.

They do NOT have a cure yet. First, they have to verify that the source is correct and then develop a vaccine or other treatments to kill it... That will take at least a few years.

 

[Scout101]

That's true of a ton of things, really. We've extended the life expectancy enough that we're coming up with all kinds of new and exciting ways to die that didn't really have a chance to manifest themselves when we died in our 50s-60s at the latest.

Body looks rigged to stand up to a good 50 or so years of abuse if you didn't get a lemon, but after that, things start breaking down pretty fast. Cancer, dementia, so on and so forth.

It would be great if we could kick this one, though, dementia is a terrible thing to go through for everyone involved...

 

[JirinPanthosa]

The first thing we need to do is tell all the hypochondriacs that gum disease causes Alzheimers, then invest in Colgate.

This is exciting though very early, if we may be on the right road to curing one of the worst ways to die.

 

[Haggis and tatties]

https://www.newscientist.com/articl...ow-what-causes-alzheimers-and-how-to-stop-it/
https://www.newscientist.com/articl...ow-what-causes-alzheimers-and-how-to-stop-it/


The scary thing is that if this is correct, many people already have the cause in their body. It's just a matter of you dying before you deteriorate.

Would be great if this turns out to be true....now i'm off to brush my teeth. lol

 

[StarCruiser]

Don't forget mouthwash!

An occasional visit to a dentist wouldn't hurt .... well, it MIGHT hurt but..?

 

[Random_Spock]

Yep. But sometimes dental care can be very expensive. Hoping that this research can lead to dentists making dental care more affordable.