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Sensory Dysfunction, Microbial Infections, and Host Responses in Alzheimer's Disease.

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Author information

Affiliations

  • 1. Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
      Authors
    • Bathini P 1, 3
    (1 author)
  • 2. BrainFit4Life, Fribourg, Switzerland.
      Authors
    • Brai E 2
    • Alberi Auber L 2, 3
    (2 authors)
  • 3. The Alzheimer's Pathobiome Initiative (AlzPI), Wake Forest, North Carolina, USA.
      Authors
    • Bathini P 1, 3
    • Balin BJ 3
    • Corry DB 3, 4
    • Devanand DP 3
    • Doty RL 3
    • Ehrlich GD 3
    • Eimer WA 3
    • Fulop T 3
    • Hahn DL 3
    • Hammond CJ 3
    • Infanti J 3
    • Itzhaki R 3
    • Lathe R 3
    • Little CS 3
    • Moein ST 3
    • Perry G 3
    • Shemesh OA 3
    • Tanzi RE 3
    • Webley WC 3
    • Schultek NM 3
    • Alberi Auber L 2, 3
    (21 authors)
  • 4. Department of Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, USA.
      Authors
    • Bimler L 4
    • Corry DB 3, 4
    (2 authors)
  • 5. Departments of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA.
      Authors
    • McLeod R 5
    (1 author)
    • Show all (6)

ORCIDs linked to this article

The Journal of Infectious Diseases, 01 Sep 2024, 230(Supplement_2):S150-S164
https://doi.org/10.1093/infdis/jiae328 PMID: 39255393 

Review

Abstract 

Sensory functions of organs of the head and neck allow humans to interact with the environment and establish social bonds. With aging, smell, taste, vision, and hearing decline. Evidence suggests that accelerated impairment in sensory abilities can reflect a shift from healthy to pathological aging, including the development of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and other neurological disorders. While the drivers of early sensory alteration in AD are not elucidated, insults such as trauma and infections can affect sensory function. Herein, we review the involvement of the major head and neck sensory systems in AD, with emphasis on microbes exploiting sensory pathways to enter the brain (the "gateway" hypothesis) and the potential feedback loop by which sensory function may be impacted by central nervous system infection. We emphasize detection of sensory changes as first-line surveillance in senior adults to identify and remove potential insults, like microbial infections, that could precipitate brain pathology.

Full text links 

Read article at publisher's site: https://doi.org/10.1093/infdis/jiae328

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Funding 

Funders who supported this work.

Cornwell Mann

    Foundation

      Rodriguez Family Foundation (1)

      Susan and Richard Kiphardt family