Beta amyloid that builds up in the brains of patients with Alzheimer’s disease may go along with beneficial antimicrobial activity.
The findings from investigators raise the possibility that some cases of Alzheimer’s may stem from chronic, undetected brain infections. The results also cast doubt on the pharmaceutical industry’s efforts to find drugs to wipe out beta amyloid from the brain, one of the main methods now in development to fight the most common form of dementia in the elderly, the researchers said. Beta amyloid, or abeta, remains harmful in high concentrations, they said.
Abeta is not toxic byproduct of other activity in the brain. It may play a normal, essential role in the brain and be part of the way the brian protects itself.
Tissue taken from the brains of patients with Alzheimer’s disease suppressed Candida, while samples from people without it didn’t.
Beta amyloid is an antimicrobial peptide, a natural part of the innate immune system found in plants, animals and the human brain. Antimicrobial peptides are the first line of defense against pathogens in the immune system, which may go awry in Alzheimer’s patients.
Johnson & Johnson, based in New Brunswick, New Jersey, Merck & Co., based in Whitehouse Station, New Jersey, Ireland’s Elan Corp., New York-based Pfizer Inc. and Eli Lilly & Co. of Indianapolis are working on Alzheimer’s disease drugs that target beta amyloid.
Alzheimer’s is a progressive disease that starts with mild forgetfulness and eventually robs patients of memories and independence.
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