2024-02-03 18:27:00
Research shows that it is possible that Alzheimer’s disease can be transmitted from person to person, but it is extremely rare and depends on specific conditions.
For example, it was found that the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease appeared in those people who received human growth hormone from the pituitary gland of deceased donors. Apparently, these hormones were contaminated with abnormal proteins, which subsequently affected the brain.
Scientists emphasize that transmission of Alzheimer’s disease does not occur in the same way as a viral or bacterial infection, but is possible only in cases of accidental transfer of human tissue (or its extracts) from a sick donor.
This discovery contributed to a deeper understanding of the nature of the disease. Scientists have concluded that Alzheimer’s disease shares similarities with prion diseases, which develop due to infectious proteins with abnormal structure that multiply in the brain. These diseases occur spontaneously, but can begin due to genetic mutations or be transmitted through infected brain or nerve tissue.
Between 1959 and 1985 in the UK, 1,848 patients received human growth hormone from deceased donors, and some were subsequently found to have a protein known as beta-amyloid in their brains, a hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease.
The latest analysis of eight patients studied between 2017 and 2022 found that five had dementia symptoms meeting clinical criteria for Alzheimer’s disease that began before age 40, with no genetic predisposition to the disease.
The study authors note that the results indicate the possibility of developing Alzheimer’s disease as a result of treatment with pituitary hormone contaminated with pathological substances.
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