Page 28 - ARUBA TODAY

A28 SCIENCE
Friday 22 June 2018
New evidence that viruses may play a role in Alzheimer's

By LAURAN NEERGAARD dent. The study, funded by
AP Medical Writer the National Institutes of
WASHINGTON (AP) — Virus- Health, wasn't hunting virus-
es that sneak into the brain es but was looking for new
just might play a role in Al- drug targets for Alzheimer's.
zheimer's, scientists report- The researchers were us-
ed Thursday in a provoca- ing complex genetic data
tive study that promises to from hundreds of brains
re-ignite some long-debat- at several brain banks to
ed theories about what compare differences be-
triggers the mind-robbing tween people who'd died
disease. with Alzheimer's and the
The findings don't prove vi- cognitively normal.
ruses cause Alzheimer's, nor The first clues that virus-
do they suggest it's conta- es were around "came
gious. screaming out at us," said
But a team led by re- Mount Sinai geneticist Joel
searchers at New York's Dudley, a senior author
Mount Sinai Health System of the research published
found that certain viruses Thursday in the journal Neu-
— including two extremely ron.
common herpes viruses The team found viral ge-
— affect the behavior of This undated photo provided by Mount Sinai Health System shows slices of human brains in the netic material at far higher
genes involved in Alzheim- Mount Sinai Brain Bank that researchers are using to study Alzheimer’s disease. levels in Alzheimer's-af-
er's. Associated Press fected brains than in nor-
The idea that infections mal ones. Most abundant
earlier in life might some- as attempts to block those mounting evidence that them — and that's why the were two human herpes
how set the stage for Al- so-called beta-amyloid how aggressively the plaque starts forming in the viruses, known as HHV6a
zheimer's decades later plaques have failed. brain's immune system first place. and HHV7, that infect most
has simmered at the edge "With an illness this terrible, defends itself against vi- "The question remained, people during childhood,
of mainstream medicine we cannot afford to dis- ruses or other germs may OK, in the Alzheimer brain often with no symptoms,
for years. It's been over- miss all scientific possibili- be riskier than an actual what are the microbes and then lie dormant in the
shadowed by the prevail- ties," said Dr. John Morris, infection, said Alzheimer's that matter, what are the body.
ing theory that Alzheimer's who directs the Alzheimer's specialist Dr. Rudolph Tanzi microbes that trigger the That wasn't unusual. Since
stems from sticky plaques research center at Wash- of Massachusetts General plaque?" explained Tanzi, 1980, other researchers
that clog the brain. ington University School of Hospital. With Harvard col- who also had no role in the have linked a variety of
Thursday's study has even Medicine in St. Louis. He league Dr. Robert Moir, new research. bacteria and viruses, in-
some specialists who never wasn't involved in the new Tanzi has performed experi- The team from Mount Sinai cluding another type of
embraced the infection research but called it im- ments showing that sticky and Arizona State Univer- herpes that causes cold
connection saying it's time pressive. beta-amyloid captures in- sity came up with some sores, to an increased risk
for a closer look, especially The study also fits with vading germs by engulfing viral suspects — by acci- of Alzheimer's. q

Thousands celebrate summer

solstice at Stonehenge

LONDON (AP) — Thousands raised mobile phones for English Heritage, which
watched the sun glint over images as the rays flooded cares for historic sites,
the horizon at Stonehenge through the monument tweeted that it was the
on Thursday, celebrating and announced the lon- "perfect morning for the
the summer solstice at the gest day of the year in the #SummerSolstice sunrise at
Neolithic stone circle. Northern Hemisphere. Stonehenge."
The sun rose behind the Wiltshire Police estimat- The event passed peace-
Heel Stone, which tradition- ed that 9,500 people at- fully. There were no arrests
ally marks the spot on the tended and that 600 more at Stonehenge, but two

The sun rises through the stones at Stonehenge as crowds of horizon for the sunrise, at celebrated at the nearby people were arrested at
people gather to celebrate the dawn of the longest day in the 4.52 a.m. Thursday. ancient monument in Ave- Avebury, one on suspicion
UK, in Wiltshire, England, Thursday June 21, 2018. Crowds cheered and bury. of being drunk and disor-
derly and another on suspi-
cion of driving while under
the influence.
Stonehenge, which is be-
lieved to be 4,500 years
old, is a World Heritage site
known for its alignment with
the movements of the sun.
Thousands travel there to
mark the solstices in sum-
mer and winter.q