3 ms·

Why do you doubt that it is (or can be) caused by infectious agents, aside from the fact that in science doubt should be the default position. Is there evidence

• pcrh 10y ago
  I doubt it because if it were caused by an infection, one would expect infections to cause Alzheimer's disease-like conditions more generally. If it is caused by a specific infection, then one would expect such a specific infection to cause the disease in young as well as older people. Neither of these scenarios are known to occur. If you extend beyond these simple scenarios, then you have to assume that there is another (unknown) factor that induces Alzheimer's disease, and therefore that the theory of infectious disease causing this condition is not sufficient.
  • gmarx 10y ago
    Suppose it is a reaction to a viral infection you get when you are young which reactivates when you get older. It could even be that the initial infection is asymptomatic in many or most people and that only a small percentage of those infected ever get the later reaction. It could be one specific virus or it could be that several virus can do it. It could be dependent on some other factor such as how the virus integrates into the host genome or later immunosuppression.