Shocking Study Finds Nose Picking Could Increase Risk for Alzheimer’s and Dementia
Bacteria can travel through the olfactory nerve in the nose and into the brain in mice, where it creates markers that are a tell-tale sign of Alzheimer’s disease. Picking can damage the lining of your nose, increasing the number of bacteria that can go up into your brain.
In new research, Griffith University scientists have demonstrated that a bacteria can travel through the olfactory nerve in the nose and into the brain in mice, where it creates markers that are a tell-tale sign of Alzheimer’s disease.
The study revealed that Chlamydia pneumoniae, a type of bacteria that can cause respiratory tract infections, such as pneumonia, exploited the nerve extending between the nasal cavity and the brain as an invasion path to assault the central nervous system. In response, the cells in the brain began depositing amyloid beta protein which is a hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease. The study was published earlier this year in the journal Scientific Reports.
Professor James St John, Head of the Clem Jones Center for Neurobiology and Stem Cell Research, is a co-author of the world first research.
“We’re the first to show that Chlamydia pneumoniae can go directly up the nose and into the brain where it can set off pathologies that look like Alzheimer’s disease,” Professor St John said. “We saw this happen in a mouse model, and the evidence is potentially scary for humans as well.”
The olfactory nerve in the nose is directly exposed to air and offers a short pathway to the brain, one which bypasses the blood-brain barrier. It’s a route that bacteria and viruses have sniffed out as an easy one into the brain.