Alzheimer's Disease Found Transmissible Through Bone Marrow Transplants in Mice

A study challenges the perception of Alzheimer's as purely a brain disease, showing systemic transmission via bone marrow transplants.

A groundbreaking study reveals Alzheimer's disease can be transmitted through bone marrow transplants from donors with familial Alzheimer's to healthy mice, challenging the traditional view of Alzheimer's as solely a brain-centric disease.
The study, led by researchers at the University of British Columbia, highlights the systemic nature of Alzheimer's, suggesting amyloids produced outside the brain can induce the disease in the central nervous system.
Recipients of bone marrow from mice with familial Alzheimer's showed accelerated onset of the disease, with cognitive decline appearing earlier than in mice that developed Alzheimer's naturally.
The findings advocate for the screening of donors for Alzheimer's markers in blood, organ, and stem cell donations to prevent inadvertent disease transmission.
Future research aims to explore whether other forms of transplants or transfusions can transmit the disease and the potential for mitigating Alzheimer's by transplanting tissues from healthy donors.