Don’t worry – picking your nose doesn’t cause Alzheimer’s disease

It’s been a tough week for nosepickers around the world, with news headlines being loudly proclaimed.scary evidence” is displayed associated with Alzheimer’s disease A bit of finger-based nose exploration. The link came from a highly speculative press release that turned out to be “highly unlikely” according to several neuroscientists New Atlas contacted.

Like much science news these days, nose-picking stories Press release, in this case from Griffith University, Australia It was released on Friday, October 28th. The news headline was, “New study suggests nose-picking may increase risk of Alzheimer’s disease and dementia,” prompting a study published in the journal. scientific report.

In this study, in mice, a bacterium called Chlamydia pneumoniae Sowing in the animal’s nose can infect parts of the brain. Additionally, the study found that when that particular bacterium invaded the brains of mice, it could cause pathological changes similar to those seen in Alzheimer’s disease.

Essentially it is ‘research’, and perhaps most unusually, research is not particularly ‘new’. This study was actually published by him ten months ago in February.and when it was published it was Press release declaration“Bacteria in the nose may increase the risk of Alzheimer’s disease.”

So it makes sense to ask why a 10-month-old study was touted as a “new study” and suddenly came to completely new conclusions suggesting that nose-picking may be associated with Alzheimer’s risk. It seems to me that

To understand how this novel connection to nose-picking came about, New Atlas spoke to one of the study’s co-authors, Professor James St. John. Saint John said that when his first news release came out earlier that year, he felt the research was overwhelmed by other articles at the time. And since the study was first published, he has been approached by many ear, nose, and throat (ENT) specialists excited about the findings, and has explored the link between nasal infections and dementia. I am urging him to investigate this relationship further.

“It has to be investigated, they said,” St John told New Atlas. “We never thought about the history of infection or damage to the nose. They are right. So many people have contacted me since I put out the media release. , my spouse, said she had Alzheimer’s and had a terrible nasal infection and when she first had symptoms she used to pick her nose a lot. There was not.

The nose-picking link, which seems to be the focus of this new wave of media coverage, stems from a small piece of research that found that intentional damage to mouse epithelium led to increased bacterial infiltration into peripheral nerves and olfactory bulbs. The nasal epithelium is the thin layer of tissue that lines the inside of the nose, and in this study, researchers tested chemicals that damage that tissue as a model similar to “natural nasal damage” in humans. Used.

The hypothesis put forward by St. John is that nose picking may cause similar damage to the mucous membrane of the nose, which may increase the amount of pathogens that travel to the brain. pathogens can trigger a cascade of events that lead to the development of Alzheimer’s disease.

Of course, that leaves important questions. What kind of active nose picking are we talking about here?

St. John admits that “gently picking your nose probably won’t do that,” but if you’re picking your nose until it bleeds, it might be more of a problem.

New Atlas reached out to a number of neuroscientists and dementia researchers to get their feedback on a potential link between nose picking and Alzheimer’s disease. Some felt that the proposal was so ridiculous that they didn’t even like to associate it with this story.

Bryce Vissel, a neuroscientist at the University of New South Wales, has a particular focus on neurodegenerative diseases. He says the findings at the core of St. John’s research are intriguing. According to Vissel, the idea that bacterial infections could play a role in dementia, and that those infections could travel from the nose to the brain, remains incredibly speculative but persuasive. They’re not mainstream views, but they’re certainly topics that many researchers are investigating, according to Vissel.

What Vissel struggles with is making the leap to nose picking, a possible risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease. He says there is no evidence that this incredibly common human behavior is involved in Alzheimer’s disease.

Vissel said, “I’ve never heard of it, I’ve never seen any evidence of it, nor have I had any basis for making such a statement.” I fear that you may interpret it as having a fear of doing what you have been doing for some time, and on the basis of this paper, I think that fear is unwarranted.”

Nicky Ann Wilson, a postdoctoral fellow at Neuroscience Research Australia, agrees with Vissel. She agrees that there is growing evidence that flexion may hypothetically play a role in certain neurodegenerative diseases, but the new study’s findings suggest that nose picking may play a role in Alzheimer’s disease. Jumping on the suggestion that it is the cause is a big leap.

“The suggestion that disruption of the nasal epithelium could increase the likelihood of such infections is new,” Wilson said. We know that there are many factors that contribute to the development of Alzheimer’s disease over a lifetime, and it is highly unlikely that a finger touched the nose was the cause.”

St. John is the first to admit that more research is needed, and plans to begin next year a large study of people in the early stages of late-onset Alzheimer’s disease. This study will investigate participants’ sense of smell, sample nasal bacteria, and follow their medical history for evidence of nasal infections.

In speaking about this upcoming study, St. John does not mention investigating nose picking as a risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease.A nearly universal practice in adults,” It’s probably hard to find someone who admits they’ve never slipped a finger in there for a quick cleanup.

Finally, despite last week’s exaggerated news headlines, nose-pickers can relax and not worry about themselves having dementia. When you’re sick, you may act lighthearted and kind, but don’t worry that this very common behavior can lead to Alzheimer’s disease.