The common cold can cause Alzheimer’s, research says

A family of viruses including those that cause the common colds, polio and diarrhea may be responsible for Alzheimer’s disease in old age, reports a mouse study conducted at May Clinic.

Called picornaviruses, this group of viruses crosses into the brain and can lead to a variety of steady damages in a crucial memory-processing region known as the hippocampus. In the mouse models studied, the viruses injured the spinal cord and parts of the brain responsible for motor function, learning and memory.

Laboratory mice were infected with Theiler’s murine encephalomyelitis virus, which is similar to human poliovirus. Some had difficulty navigating a maze remembering a route that they had previously learned, while others were barely.

“Our study suggests that virus-induced memory loss could accumulate over the lifetime of an individual and eventually lead to clinical cognitive memory deficits,” said Charles Howe, who reported the findings in the journal Neurobiology of Disease.

“Our findings suggest that picornavirus infections throughout the lifetime of an individual may chip away at the cognitive reserve, increasing the likelihood of detectable cognitive impairment as the individual ages,” the researchers wrote in their report.

The scientists also suggest that having several acute picornavirus infections in a lifetime may explain the severe memory problems seen in some elderly people who do not have neurodegenerative illnesses, such as Alzheimer¡’s disease.

Although scientists are discovering more about Alzheimer’s Disease and what causes it, right now there is no cure. As the disease progresses, people often need more and more care. To find out more about the disease and how caregivers can find support, visit b5media’s Alzheimer’s Notes.

The abstract is found here at Neurobiology of Disease Volume November 2006; 24(2):266-273. Disrupted spatial memory is a consequence of picornavirus infection

[Source: ReutersAlert]

Tags: Common cold, research, alzheimer’s disease, Picornaviruses