Alzheimer’s Scotland has lashed out at media companies for sensational reports suggesting that people can catch Alzheimer’s or it may be passed onto through surgeries – something that the charity says are baseless claims.
Earlier several media outlets cited a new study published in Nature which claimed that protein beta-amyloid was found in the brains of eight people who had been who had previously injected with human growth hormone. The study went onto suggest that because of this, the patients may have gone on to develop Alzheimer’s disease.
The charity notes that media companies irresponsibly converted this study into reports that suggested that Alzheimer’s could be transmitted or passed on to patients. Stressing that “there is no evidence” that such a thing is possible, the charity says that the study on which these reports are based “was far too small to draw any conclusions.”
Alzheimer’s Scotland lambasted the reports and said that it was deeply disappointed by the sensationalist and irresponsible nature of much of today’s coverage.
The charity notes that while the study does raise curiosity, but its sample was too small to draw any conclusions. Further, it said that contrary to what a few media reports claim, there were no other surgical or medical procedures that were carried out on those patients and hence the ‘transmission’ or ‘passed on’ theories are baseless.
Furthermore, other hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease, such as tau protein, were not found in any of the cases. Beta-amyloid protein deposits can occur in the brain as a part of aging and are not an automatic precursor for dementia symptoms.
