Regular readers of my blogs on this platform will know that I believe that aluminium has a role to play in Alzheimer’s disease (No aluminium, no Alzheimer’s disease). The research that finally affirmed this opinion showed very high levels of aluminium in brain tissue in individuals who died of familial Alzheimer’s disease (Aluminium in brain tissue in familial Alzheimer’s disease).
Individuals bearing genetic mutations associated with the metabolism of the amyloid precursor protein suffer a form of early onset Alzheimer’s disease. While such individuals constitute just 2-3% of all cases of Alzheimer’s disease these rare conditions have been the underlying basis of the amyloid cascade of (all forms) Alzheimer’s disease. We speculated that genetic predispositions resulting in early onset Alzheimer’s disease actually predispose individuals to accelerated and enhanced accumulation of aluminium in brain tissue (Aluminum Should Now Be Considered a Primary Etiological Factor in Alzheimer’s Disease).
We have now tested this hypothesis in another cohort of familial Alzheimer’s disease, this time from Colombia, and report our findings in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease (Aluminum and Amyloid-β in Familial Alzheimer’s Disease). We show once again that individuals who died with a diagnosis of familial Alzheimer’s disease had very high levels of aluminium in their brain tissue. In addition using aluminium-selective fluorescence microscopy (The Identification of Aluminum in Human Brain Tissue Using Lumogallion and Fluorescence Microscopy), we show the persistent co-localisation of aluminium with amyloid-b in brain tissues from all donors.
We demonstrate unequivocally that classical senile plaques are composed of both aluminium and amyloid-b. Genetic mutations known to increase the cortical load of amyloid-b also increase the brain load of aluminium and these two primary suspects in the aetiology of Alzheimer’s disease are co-located in these brain tissues. These new findings are unequivocal. While they may not support the ‘political’ view on the causes of Alzheimer’s disease (Why industry propaganda and political interference cannot disguise the inevitable role played by human exposure to aluminum in neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease) they demonstrate the science that confirms that aluminium and Alzheimer’s disease are inextricably linked. No aluminium, no Alzheimer’s disease.
Honorary Professor, UHI Millennium Institute
Group Leader - Bioinorganic Chemistry Laboratory at Keele
- Infant vaccines - 23rd April 2021
- Imagine you are an Aluminum Atom - 5th November 2020
- Aluminium in human brain tissue - 8th May 2020
