This is worth reading, what implications does it have for DBS
I read this yesterday or i should say i read as much as i could take in, then it started appearing on the news last night, those commenting thought back in the 70's hygiene might of been too blame in medical operations, slightly different if i've got the gist it's something too do with proteins passed in some way then malforming?.
Hi Bethankit and sea angler,
Thanks for highlighting this, we've been reading about and discussing this unusual research in the office this week.
There is a really good explanation of the research on the Guardian which you might find helpful: http://www.theguardian.com/science/2015/sep/09/protein-linked-to-alzheimers-could-be-spread-during-surgery-say-researchers
This was a very small study which looked at the brains of 8 people who underwent a very unusual procedure (they were treated with growth hormone taken from human cadavers).
This treatment was abandoned in the 1980s because it caused CJD in some of the recipients of growth hormone.
The researchers found 'Alzheimer's like' features - a build up of a protein called amyloid beta - in these peoples brains when they examined them after death from CJD.
This study has led to speculation that the Alzheimer's like changes may have been caused by tiny fragments of amyloid beta protein that was transferred when the people received the growth hormone treatment.
But this is just a theory and there is quite a lot of disagreement among scientists on this (see the Guardian piece).
There is no evidence that Alzheimer's (or Parkinson's!) can be transmitted in humans through any medical procedure.
I hope this is helpful!
Claire