HMM: The Case For Transmissible Alzheimer’s Grows.

It is important – imperative – to emphasize that transmissible does not equal contagious. There is absolutely no evidence that people with dementia can spread their disease casually to people around them. Even donated blood appears to be safe, as no association with blood transfusions and Alzheimer’s Disease has ever been detected.

Rather, in the course of some neurological surgeries – and perhaps certain kinds of medical exams – prions may become lodged on equipment. And there is a chance this equipment could transmit the disease. Organ donation protocols may also warrant some review. It was already known that donations of dura mater, a tough brain covering, have transmitted Aβ to young people in the past.

And I wonder. Since Alzheimer’s Disease is so common, and we have not (to my knowledge) been looking for Alzheimer’s caused by surgical or other medical procedures that access eye or neural tissue — particularly in patients for whom the appearance of Alzheimer’s would not be surprising — is it possible that we are underestimating the transmission potential of this disease, and that such events are less rare than we would guess?

I don’t know, but I don’t like it.