Subject:  EMF/Alzheimer's/Chlamydia-pneumoniae......
Date:     Wed, 12 Aug 1998 091330 -0500 (CDT)
From:     "Roy L. Beavers" <rbeavers@llion.org>
To:       emfguru@hotmail.com
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......The news item below does not mention EMF......But it might be
interesting to find out if EMF is bio-active in any way with the
common bacteria chlamydia pneumoniae, which may play a role in the
promotion of Alzheimer's??????........guru......

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01:54 PM ET 08/11/98

Common microbe may have role in Alzheimer's -study

        
            By David Morgan
            PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - A common form of bacteria that
causes respiratory problems could be linked to Alzheimer's
disease, biologists said Tuesday.
            The organism called Chlamydia pneumoniae was found in the
brains of 17 Alzheimer victims out of a total 19 that were
examined. Infection was particularly noticeable in regions of
the brain showing damage typical of Alzheimer's, the researchers
said.
            By contrast, the biologists from Allegheny University of the
Health Sciences in Philadelphia, Detroit's Wayne State
University and Johns Hopkins University discovered the bacteria
in the brain of only one out of 19 people who had died from
other diseases.
            Researchers said the findings could shed light on the cause
of inflammation which separate studies have found in the brains
of victims of Alzheimer's disease, a form of dementia that
usually strikes elderly people and leads to forgetfulness,
disorientation and confusion. There is no known cure.
            ``What we have here is an organism that can get inside
(brain) cells and can potentially trigger them to cause
inflammation,'' said Brian Balin, an Allegheny University
neurobiologist who helped lead the three-year study.
            Researchers, describing the bacteria as a possible new risk
factor for Alzheimer's disease, said they hoped their efforts
would lead to the development of effective new treatments for
people who suffer from the disease.
            Alzheimer's disease is expected to afflict nearly five
million people in the United States alone by 2000, and experts
say the number of American sufferers could jump to 14.5 million
by the middle of the next century.
            Because Alzheimer patients require costly and intensive
care, the disease could pose a financial nightmare for the
federal government's ailing Medicare insurance program for the
elderly in coming decades unless a cure can be found.
            Early in 1997, British researchers at the University of
Manchester presented evidence linking Alzheimer's to the virus
that causes the common cold sore. That discovery raised hopes
that a vaccination might someday be found.
            Results of the U.S. study appeared in this month's issue of
the journal, Medical Microbiology and Immunology.
            Chlamydia pneumoniae is a form of bacteria associated with a
wide range of common respiratory ailments from sinusitis to
bronchitis and pneumonia.
            But people often can be infected from childhood without
ill-effects. In fact, the bacteria are so common that they are
believed to infect as much as 70 percent of populations in some
parts of the world, including the U.S. Pacific Northwest and
Scandanavia.
            Alan Hudson, a microbiologist at the Wayne State University
School of Medicine, said researchers began to suspect Chlamydia
after hearing reports of a link between Alzheimer's and
atherosclerosis, in which the bacteria was believed to play a
role.
            Atherosclerosis, a condition which leads to cardiovascular
disease and strokes, is marked by inflammation and a buildup of
fatty substances in the blood vessels.
            Research found Chlamydia in the brain's glial cells, which
support nerve cells and function like an immune system in the
brain. When infected, they cause inflammation.
            Balin said a main goal of the research team now was to
figure out how Chlamydia bacteria slipped from the respiratory
system to the brain.
            A possible route would be the olfactory system, which
presents a physical connection between the brain and the
respiratory system. Researchers noted that the region of the
brain associated with the sense of smell is often affected by
Alzheimer's disease.
         ^REUTERS@




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Reprinted with permission of Roy Beavers, http://www.feb.se/EMF-L/EMF-L.html