Five patients in the UK developed Alzheimer’s disease due to pollution they suffered as children decades ago, according to a new study that could change the way scientists think about the causes of dementia. This appears to be the result of an injection. I received the same treatment.
All five patients received cadaveric human growth hormone injections over several years to treat extremely short stature, according to a study published Monday. Journal “Nature Medicine”. Scientists extracted hormones from cadaver pituitary glands at the base of the brain.
But what scientists didn’t realize at the time was that in some cases, another substance, amyloid beta protein, was also extracted, contaminating the batch.This protein is involved in the formation of features brain plaque Seen in Alzheimer’s disease. Researchers said they cannot fully explain how exposure to these proteins causes the formation of plaques and tangles in the brain that cause Alzheimer’s disease.
In Alzheimer’s disease, typically divided into two main groups: These are cases caused by genetic mutations and cases that occur sporadically in people over 65 years old due to many risk factors such as smoking, obesity, and high blood pressure.
The patients in the new study did not fit into these two groups. They developed symptoms of dementia between the ages of 38 and 55, but none had the gene mutation associated with early-onset dementia, the study found.
The study authors said their findings suggest a third way Alzheimer’s disease may develop: through contaminated medical products.
Some doctors who regularly treat children for hormone-related problems but were not involved in the study said they were surprised by the results.
“This is new information that is unknown to the medical community,” said Dr. Kupfer Wintergarst, chairman of the endocrine division of the American Academy of Pediatrics.
Other doctors said they were concerned that a treatment once thought safe was causing so much harm.
“When you hear that Alzheimer’s disease is linked to a treatment, it’s disturbing,” said Dr. Dennis Chia, associate clinical professor of pediatric endocrinology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles.
Christopher Weber, director of the Alzheimer’s Association’s Global Science Initiative, noted that the study was very small. If other scientists find similar results in future studies, this study’s findings will become even more reliable.
Weber said there is no risk to the general public.
“Alzheimer’s disease is not contagious,” said Weber, who was not involved in the new study. “Caring for someone with Alzheimer’s disease will not give you Alzheimer’s disease. Alzheimer’s disease is not transmitted through the air or by touching or being near someone with Alzheimer’s disease.”
Still, he said the findings are not entirely new.
“It has long been known that injecting amyloid beta into the brains of animals can cause abnormal amyloid accumulation similar to that seen in Alzheimer’s disease,” Professor Weber said. “We can also transfer the human Alzheimer’s gene into animals, causing abnormal Alzheimer’s-like processes in the animals’ brains.”
Growth hormone derived from cadavers is given to 27,000 people Children around the world from 1959 to 1985, according to new research Including approximately 7,700 patients In the US. Before synthetic versions were available, doctors used hormones taken from cadavers.
The study authors said other patients who received cadaver-derived hormones may also be at increased risk for Alzheimer’s disease. But they added that a significant increase in the number of infections is not expected.
“The actual risk of Alzheimer’s disease transmission in this setting is very low and would probably be a very rare occurrence,” said study lead author John, a neurologist and director of the Prion Disease Research Institute at University College London.・Dr. Collinge stated. he said at a press conference Thursday.
Collinge said patients should be aware of the potential risks of Alzheimer’s disease and seek testing and treatment if necessary.
“If we can catch people in the early stages” of Alzheimer’s disease, he said, “they may be more susceptible to infection.” Treatments becoming available”
Children currently being treated for short stature are not at risk. Uses synthetic growth hormone Since 1985.
“I don’t think people need to be alarmed,” says Dr. Paul Kaplowitz, a professor emeritus at Children’s Hospital who specializes in childhood growth disorders.
Kaplowitz said the U.S. manufacturer developed a safer method In 1977, cadaver-derived human growth hormone was purified, greatly reducing the risk of contamination. Patients treated with cadaveric growth hormone in the United States after 1977 are considered to be at very low risk.
“If this was a big problem, you would think there would be a lot of cases by now,” said Kaplowitz, who was not involved in the new study.
Another dangerous protein
Collinge and his team Previous research suggested Patients receiving cadaveric growth hormone May be at risk for Alzheimer’s disease, they began following the patient due to concerns about another disease, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD). Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) is a rare and fatal condition that is also caused by contaminated hormone samples.
CJD is a relative of bovine spongiform encephalopathy, commonly referred to as mad cow disease. Over 250 growth hormone patients has been diagnosed Around the world with CJD.
Doctors believe the patient developed CJD from a hormone sample contaminated with prions, a little-understood protein that can cause abnormalities in normal brain proteins. folded into an abnormal shape. Thirty-five patients were treated with cadaveric human growth hormone in the United States. Died from CJD.
People who have lived in or traveled to the UK or other places hit by mad cow disease for decades. Blood donation prohibited, for fear of transmitting the disease. The Food and Drug Administration lifted that ban in 2022.
Collinge said it is not known whether the protein that appears to cause Alzheimer’s disease can be transmitted through blood transfusions or organ donations. A spokesperson for the American Society of Transplantation said the organization’s scientists have found no link between organ transplants and an increased risk of Alzheimer’s disease.
“It’s an interesting question,” Collinge said at a news conference. “That’s not something we considered.”
Scientists have had evidence for some time that CJD can be transmitted through blood transfusions. American Red Cross bans people from entering People who received cadaver-derived growth hormone through blood donation.
However, a spokesperson for the American Red Cross said in a statement that there is “no scientific evidence” that donating blood can increase the risk of amyloid protein buildup in the body or Alzheimer’s disease. Red Cross spokesperson Daniel Parra said the Red Cross works closely with the FDA and other international health organizations that oversee blood safety to ensure recommendations include the latest science. He said there was.
This new study raises questions about how Alzheimer’s disease begins. Collinge said Alzheimer’s disease may have more in common with CJD than previously thought.
“This may have important implications for the future understanding and treatment of Alzheimer’s disease,” he said in a statement. While there are no other reported cases of people contracting Alzheimer’s disease through other medical treatments, this study is aimed at “preventing accidental infections from other medical or surgical procedures to prevent such cases from occurring in the future.” This should lead to consideration of countermeasures.”
For more information, patients treated with cadaveric human growth hormone in the United States should call the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases at 1-800-860-8747 or healthinfo@niddk.nih. Please email us at gov.
Patients seeking treatment in the UK can email the National Prion Clinic at uclh.prion.help@nhs.net.
