auto-immunity is where your body attacks itself

Now that it looks like the Amyloid Hypothesis is likely incorrect, an increasing number of researchers are postulating that Alzheimer’s Disease may be an auto-immune disease where the brain’s own defenses are what’s killing the brain.

In this recent scientific article titled “Alzheimer Disease Pathogenesis: The Role of Autoimmunity” researchers point to the growing number of studies that suggest that we are heading in the wrong direction in treating Amyloid Beta as the genesis of this disease and instead should be heading in the direction of viewing Alzheimer’s as an immuno-response against the brain itself.  Moreover, auto-antibodies, the researchers contend, might be the new Alzheimer’s diagnostic tool we’ll be using in the near future.  

As this line of reasoning takes off, be assured that we will begin seeing more studies and articles linking diseases like Diabetes and Rheumatoid Arthritis to Alzheimer’s Disease.   

But we are not so sure that connection can be made…and here’s why: 

If having an auto-immune disease was key to whether you would develop Alzheimers, then it would reason that all auto-immune diseases would carry the same or very similar risks for developing Alzheimer’s Disease.    

Which is absolutely NOT the case.  In fact, many auto-immune diseases don’t even show up as co-morbid conditions to Alzheimer’s – meaning many people dying of Alzheimer’s don’t have a single auto-immune disease and vise-versa…many people with an auto-immune condition never contract Alzheimer’s. 

Therefore, we feel this inconsistency begs us to look closer at those auto-immune diseases THAT DO show up as co-morbid diagnosed conditions for keys as to why a high number of individuals with these diseases go on to develop Alzheimer’s.   

And we contend that the overlap between the following auto-immune diseases and Alzheimer’s may be locked up in other risk factors that coincide with these auto-immune disorders…the top two being age and being female at birth.   

The Curing Alzheimer’s Disease Foundation is dedicated to helping explain the connection between Autoimmunity and Alzheimer’s. In this recent blog post, we delve into the fascinating theory that looks at a specific immune cell that, in some people is over produced – and could be contributing to this still unknown link.  

THE FOLLOWING AUTO-IMMUNE DISEASES ARE LINKED TO ALZHEIMER’S

Periodontal Disease

In as far as autoimmunity and Alzheimer’s goes, Periodontal Disease (PD) has the highest co-morbidity with Alzheimer’s Disease of all auto-immune disorders.  

We believe this is because: 

if you have PD, you have a type of bacteria that can also cause Alzheimer’s.  We saw this in the dental clinic daily – in fact, we could frequently predict who would be suffering from dementia / or was already suffering from dementia just by looking at their periodontal-charting!  Advanced age with deep pockets over a long period of time = Mild/Moderate Cognitive Impairment or even Alzheimer’s Disease.  In fact, it was rare where this wasn’t the case.   Taken further, if a tooth (or many teeth) were lost due to Gum Disease then it was a guarantee that if the the individual was older (60+) they were already starting to fail cognitively.  Wow.

We will bring you more information on this in a future blogpost.

Diabetes

 Diabetes – in both forms (type I and type II) – is close to the top of the list of auto-immune diseases that are linked to Alzheimer’s.  

Which begs the question:  why do so many people with Alzheimer’s also have Diabetes?   

We think the answer is simpler than the hard-thinking research world wants it to be: We believe the parallel is due to what happens to diabetics as this disease progresses.    

One of the most irritating symptoms of Diabetes is xerostomia – commonly known as Dry Mouth. Now, when you have no/low saliva, you will inevitably develop Periodontal Disease because the lack of saliva (saliva is what keeps the mouth PH basic), the PH of your mouth becomes acidic.     

And when the PH  of your mouth becomes acidic, the bad (harmful) bacteria overgrow and the good (harmless) bacteria die.  Tooth decay and Periodontal Disease (PD) ensue, the later of which (as we just covered) increases your risk of developing Alzheimer’s. 

Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA)

Lupus

Sjogren’s Syndrome

For the longest time, researchers have been documenting a strong association between this form of autoimmunity and Alzheimer’s Disease.

We agree that Sjogren’s Syndrome (SS) is risk actor – partly because it’s strikes women far more than it does men –  see risk factor: biological sex.   But mostly because of what it does to the body.  Just as with Diabetes, SS, by nature, reduces saliva (among other autonomic functions) and in so doing, reduces the oral PH.  This, we contend, is why this disease appears to be a strong risk factor