A troubling new study shows a link between a common fungus and Alzheimer’s disease. Scientists from the Baylor College of Medicine are revealing how the fungus Candida albicans enters the brain, triggers mechanisms that aid in its clearance, and generates toxic protein fragments known as amyloid beta (Ab)-like peptides — a key player in Alzheimer’s disease development.
“Our lab has years of experience studying fungi, so we embarked on the study of the connection between C. albicans and Alzheimer’s disease in animal models,” says study corresponding author Dr. David Corry, the Fulbright Endowed Chair in Pathology and a professor of pathology and immunology and medicine at Baylor, in a university release. “In 2019, we reported that C. albicans does get into the brain where it produces changes that are very similar to what is seen in Alzheimer’s disease. The current study extends that work to understand the molecular mechanisms.”
— Read on studyfinds.org/fungus-alzheimers-disease/
