Can Alzheimer's Be Spread? Mouse Study Hints It's Possible

https://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=217263

2018年12月18日 Alzheimer’s transmission.mp3

This article discussed a recent published paper about the possible transmission of Alzheimer’s disease by contaminated surgical equipment. This paper was publish in Nature whose impact factor is 41.577 in 2018. Clumps of amyloid-beta in the brain are a hallmark of Alzheimer's disease, although researchers still do not understand the relationship between these clumps and the degenerative brain disease. Between 1958 and 1985, about 30,000 children with growth deficiencies were treated with cadaver-derived human growth hormone (c-HGH) and three of them were diagnosed with Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) c-HGH was subsequently abandoned and replaced by a synthetic form. Scientist found that c-HGH might be the true culprit behind the amyloid-beta deposits. We need to be careful while do blood transfusion and need to make sure that neurosurgical instruments are cleaned thoroughly. However, some scientists think this research is a very, very preliminary research and just looked at a buildup of amyloid in the brain but not the same thing as Alzheimer disease. Besides, some pointedly noted that animal findings often do not replicate in humans and does not mean that you can catch Alzheimer’s from another person.

decades-old human cadavers /kə'dævɚ/ （the dead body of a human being）

amyloid-beta deposits/'æmɪ,lɔɪd/；  amyloid-beta pathology /pə'θɑlədʒi/；Clumps of amyloid-beta /klʌmp/ （[C + of] a small mass of something such as earth or mud）

be transmitted to people from contaminated materials

pointedly noted that（in such a manner as to make something clearly evident）

contagious disease /kən'tedʒəs/ （easily diffused or spread as from one person to another）

preliminary research /prɪ'lɪmɪnɛri/

pituitary glands of corpses /pɪ'tuətɛri/（the master gland of the endocrine system; located at the base of the brain）

cadaver-derived human growth hormone (c-HGH)

was subsequently abandoned

prescribe a synthetic form of human growth hormone /prɪ'skraɪb/ （v.issue commands or orders for）

the true culprit behind the amyloid-beta deposits /'kʌlprɪt/ （someone who perpetrates  /'pɝpətret/ wrongdoing）

the original batches

contaminated surgical equipment

blood transfusion

I can't absolutely rule it out

it's unlikely to be much of a problem

clean those thoroughly