Almost 7 million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s disease, according to the 2024 Alzheimer’s Association report. This illness is known by its symptoms such as memory loss, poor thinking skills, and behavorial changes. One of the main risk factors is age, an inevitable for everyone on Earth. Despite being such a prevalent disease, researchers have yet to find a cure or solid method of prevention. One expert believes this is because they have been studying the wrong theories. He claims Alzheimer’s may not be a primarily brain disease at all. It may be an autoimmune condition.
Is Alzheimer’s Truly a Brain Disease?
In 2022, Donald Weaver published a review in the journal Alzheimer’s and Dementia. There, the Professor of Chemistry and Director of Krembil Research Institute (part of the University Health Network in Toronto) details his theory on how this notorious “brain disease” may be an autoimmune disease. The brain disease theory was popularized by a now-retracted 2006 research paper published in the journal Nature. In it, the authors found the cause of Alzheimer’s to be a subtype of a brain protein called beta-amyloid.
For years afterward, scientists have tried to create Alzheimer’s treatments intended to prevent the formation of beta-amyloid. “In fact, we scientists have arguably got ourselves into a bit of an intellectual rut concentrating almost exclusively on this approach, often neglecting or even ignoring other possible explanations,” writes Weaver in the Conversation.
Unfortunately, this dedication hadn’t led to any breakthroughs in Alzheimer’s treatment. To make matters worse, a 2022 report from Science magazine claims the paper’s discovery may have been based on manipulated scientific images. The 2006 study authors “appeared to have composed figures by piecing together parts of photos from different experiments,” says Elisabeth Bik, a molecular biologist and well-known forensic image consultant. “The obtained experimental results might not have been the desired results, and that data might have been changed to … better fit a hypothesis.”
“An Immune Disorder in the Brain”
With that in mind, Weaver and his team at the Krembil Brain Institute have been trying to determine a new theory about the cause of this disease. “Based on our past 30 years of research, we no longer think of Alzheimer’s as primarily a disease of the brain,” he writes. “Rather, we believe that Alzheimer’s is principally a disorder of the immune system within the brain.”
By definition, the immune system defends the body against infections and injuries. For example, if there is head trauma during a car accident, the brain’s immune system will step in to help the healing process. However, autoimmune diseases occur when the system “malfunctions” and begins attacking healthy cells, tissues, and organs. This kind of attack can affect any part of the body, leading to debilitating symptoms and even death, according to the National Institue of Environmental Health Sciences. Examples include rheumatoid arthritis, type 1 diabetes, lupus, etc.
Weaver and his colleagues believe that beta-amyloid is a normal molecule in the brain’s immune system, not an unhealthy anomaly. When there is trauma or an infection in the brain, this protein is part of the attack against it. So when beta-amyloid begins attacking host brain cells instead of invading bacteria, there’s a chronic and increasing loss of brain cell function, leading to the symptoms of dementia. In other words, Alzheimer’s is an autoimmune disease, and treatment research may find more success targeting immune-regulating pathways in the brain, according to Weaver.
Alzheimer’s Prevention
As previously mentioned, there is no way to definitively prevent Alzheimer’s. However, researchers have found lifestyle choices can reduce the risk of getting this illness, according to Mayo Clinic. They discovered a link between reducing this risk and reducing the risk of heart disease. Therefore, their prevention strategies go hand-in-hand. These include:
- Exercise regularly
- Eat a diet with plenty of fruit, vegetables, healthy oils, and meals low in saturated fat
- Manage high blood pressure
- Quit smoking
- Maintain healthy blood sugar levels if diabetic
- Manage healthy cholesterol levels
- Seek treatment for hearing loss
- Seek treatment for vision loss
- Stay socially connected with friends and loved ones
- Engage in mentally-stimulating activities, such as reading, playing an instrument, learning new languages, creating art, dancing, playing board games, etc.
Read More: Alzheimer’s: Newly Identified Risk Factor Worst in These US States, According to Map