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Analysis and Health

Could bone marrow transplants transmit Alzheimer's disease?

Mice showed signs of Alzheimer's after receiving bone marrow from other mice with high levels of the culprit protein amyloid in their brains, but we are a long way off from saying the risk applies to people

By Clare Wilson

28 March 2024

It has been suggested that blood donors be genetically tested to make sure they don’t have an inherited form of Alzheimer’s, but others think this is unnecessary

BSIP/UIG Via Getty Images

Could Alzheimer’s disease be transmitted between people by common medical procedures? Not according to the medical orthodoxy, which says the condition happens due to a build-up of proteins in the brain.

But a controversial idea posits that occasionally those proteins can be passed from one person to another through measures such as bone marrow and organ transplants, or even blood transfusions.…

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