Scientists Say Alzheimer’s Is an Autoimmune Disease, Not Result of Amyloid Plaques

Scientists Say Alzheimer’s Is an Autoimmune Disease, Not Result of Amyloid Plaques
Autoimmune diseases refer to diseases caused by the body's own immune system attacking the body. Kateryna Kon/Shutterstock
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Not long ago, some Canadian scientists clearly put forward a different explanation for the cause of Alzheimer’s disease—they suggested that Alzheimer’s may be an autoimmune disease.

Alzheimer’s May Be an Autoimmune Disease

According to statistics from the World Health Organization (WHO), there are about 50 million dementia patients in the world, with 10 million new cases every year; it means that about one person is diagnosed every three seconds.
Over the years, the “amyloid hypothesis” has been widely accepted among various theories of the cause of Alzheimer’s disease, but it has also been controversial as some phenomena in patients with Alzheimer’s do not fit the hypothesis. For example, people with amyloid plaques in their brains may not have Alzheimer’s. Besides, there are still many uncertainties about the clinical benefit of drugs targeting the elimination of amyloid beta.
Flora is a health reporter for The Epoch Times. She holds a master’s degree in demography and served as editor of a social sciences journal for seven years. Shifting her focus from macro issues like population changes and economic development to personal health, Flora finds great joy and satisfaction in her work. She bases her articles on thorough literature reviews and in-depth interviews with experts, aiming to provide content that genuinely helps people. Email her at: [email protected]
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