title: A study on the association between infectious burden and Alzheimer's disease.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Previous studies suggested that the overall burden of prior infections contributes to cardiovascular diseases and stroke. In the present study, the association between infectious burden (IB) and Alzheimer's disease (AD) was examined.
  
  
  METHODS
  Antibody titers to common infectious pathogens including cytomegalovirus (CMV), herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1), Borrelia burgdorferi, Chlamydophila pneumoniae and Helicobacter pylori were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay in 128 AD patients and 135 healthy controls. IB was defined as a composite serological measure of exposure to these common pathogens.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Seropositivities toward zero-two, three and four-five of these pathogens were found in 44%, 40% and 16% of healthy controls but in 20%, 44% and 36% of AD patients, respectively. IB, bacterial burden and viral burden were independently associated with AD after adjusting for age, gender, education, APOE genotype and various comorbidities. Mini-Mental State Examination scores were negatively correlated with IB in all cases. Serum beta-amyloid protein (Aβ) levels (i.e. Aβ40, Aβ42 and total Aβ) and inflammatory cytokines (i.e. interferon-γ, tumor necrosis factor α, interleukin-1β and interleukin-6) in individuals exposed to four-five infectious pathogens were significantly higher than those exposed to zero-two or three pathogens.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  IB consisting of CMV, HSV-1, B. burgdorferi, C. pneumoniae and H. pylori is associated with AD. This study supports the role of infection/inflammation in the etiopathogenesis of AD.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology and Center for Clinical Neuroscience, Daping Hospital, Third Military Medical University, Yuzhong District, Chongqing, China.
authors.forename: X-L
authors.initials: XL
authors.lastname: Bu
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology and Center for Clinical Neuroscience, Daping Hospital, Third Military Medical University, Yuzhong District, Chongqing, China.
authors.forename: X-Q
authors.initials: XQ
authors.lastname: Yao
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology and Center for Clinical Neuroscience, Daping Hospital, Third Military Medical University, Yuzhong District, Chongqing, China.
authors.forename: S-S
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Jiao
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology and Center for Clinical Neuroscience, Daping Hospital, Third Military Medical University, Yuzhong District, Chongqing, China.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Zeng
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology and Center for Clinical Neuroscience, Daping Hospital, Third Military Medical University, Yuzhong District, Chongqing, China.
authors.forename: Y-H
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology and Center for Clinical Neuroscience, Daping Hospital, Third Military Medical University, Yuzhong District, Chongqing, China.
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Xiang
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology and Center for Clinical Neuroscience, Daping Hospital, Third Military Medical University, Yuzhong District, Chongqing, China.
authors.forename: C-R
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Liang
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology and Center for Clinical Neuroscience, Daping Hospital, Third Military Medical University, Yuzhong District, Chongqing, China.
authors.forename: Q-H
authors.initials: QH
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology and Center for Clinical Neuroscience, Daping Hospital, Third Military Medical University, Yuzhong District, Chongqing, China.
authors.forename: X
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology and Center for Clinical Neuroscience, Daping Hospital, Third Military Medical University, Yuzhong District, Chongqing, China.
authors.forename: H-Y
authors.initials: HY
authors.lastname: Cao
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology and Center for Clinical Neuroscience, Daping Hospital, Third Military Medical University, Yuzhong District, Chongqing, China.
authors.forename: X
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Yi
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology and Center for Clinical Neuroscience, Daping Hospital, Third Military Medical University, Yuzhong District, Chongqing, China.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Deng
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology and Center for Clinical Neuroscience, Daping Hospital, Third Military Medical University, Yuzhong District, Chongqing, China.
authors.forename: C-H
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology and Center for Clinical Neuroscience, Daping Hospital, Third Military Medical University, Yuzhong District, Chongqing, China.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology and Center for Clinical Neuroscience, Daping Hospital, Third Military Medical University, Yuzhong District, Chongqing, China.
authors.forename: L-L
authors.initials: LL
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology and Center for Clinical Neuroscience, Daping Hospital, Third Military Medical University, Yuzhong District, Chongqing, China.
authors.forename: C-Y
authors.initials: CY
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology and Center for Clinical Neuroscience, Daping Hospital, Third Military Medical University, Yuzhong District, Chongqing, China.
authors.forename: Z-Q
authors.initials: ZQ
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology and Center for Clinical Neuroscience, Daping Hospital, Third Military Medical University, Yuzhong District, Chongqing, China.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology and Center for Clinical Neuroscience, Daping Hospital, Third Military Medical University, Yuzhong District, Chongqing, China.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Chongqing Mental Health Center, Jiangbei District, Chongqing, China.
authors.forename: X-L
authors.initials: XL
authors.lastname: Tan
authors.affiliation: Institute of Field Surgery, Daping Hospital, Third Military Medical University, Yuzhong District, Chongqing, China.
authors.forename: X
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology and Center for Clinical Neuroscience, Daping Hospital, Third Military Medical University, Yuzhong District, Chongqing, China.
authors.forename: H-D
authors.initials: HD
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology and Center for Clinical Neuroscience, Daping Hospital, Third Military Medical University, Yuzhong District, Chongqing, China.
authors.forename: Y-J
authors.initials: YJ
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000097:blood* / Q000209:etiology; D016229:Amyloid beta-Peptides / Q000097:blood*; D001424:Bacterial Infections / Q000097:blood*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D006566:Herpesviridae Infections / Q000097:blood*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged
chemical_list: D016229:Amyloid beta-Peptides
keywords: Alzheimer's disease; beta-amyloid; case−control study; infections; risk factors