Could this be? Fungal infection being the cause of Alzheimer's disease? Noteworthy from a recent study conducted in Spain: all the Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients had evidence of fungal infections in their brains, central nervous systems, and vascular systems, but none were found in the control subjects (those without Alzheimer's disease). Many of the symptoms of AD (such as inflammation of the central nervous system and activation of the immune system) match those with long-lasting fungal infections. A "microbial cause" has long been suggested as a cause of AD, and interestingly other studies have also found fungal infections in AD patients. The research so far has found several fungal species in AD patients (including Candida albicans). The researchers mention that in one study anti-fungal treatment reversed clinical symptoms of AD in 2 patients (but it was written off as misdiagnosis).
Another possibility that immediately occurs to explain the findings is that perhaps Alzheimer's disease somehow results in fungal infections - that the AD makes them more prone to fungal infection. In case you're wondering - all the AD patients and control patients studied had died - this is why their brain tissue could be studied so thoroughly. Excerpts from a research article by D. Pisa et al in Nature:
Different Brain Regions are Infected with Fungi in Alzheimer’s Disease
The possibility that Alzheimer’s disease (AD) has a microbial aetiology has been proposed by several researchers. Here, we provide evidence that tissue from the central nervous system (CNS) of AD patients contain fungal cells and hyphae. Fungal material can be detected both intra- and extracellularly using specific antibodies against several fungi. Different brain regions including external frontal cortex, cerebellar hemisphere, entorhinal cortex/hippocampus and choroid plexus contain fungal material, which is absent in brain tissue from control individuals. Analysis of brain sections from ten additional AD patients reveals that all are infected with fungi. Fungal infection is also observed in blood vessels, which may explain the vascular pathology frequently detected in AD patients. Sequencing of fungal DNA extracted from frozen CNS samples identifies several fungal species. Collectively, our findings provide compelling evidence for the existence of fungal infection in the CNS from AD patients, but not in control individuals. ...continue reading "Fungal Infections Involved in Alzheimer’s Disease?"