Alzheimer’s Disease: A Novel Hypothesis Integrating Spirochetes, Biofilm, and the Immune System

In the light of recent studies showing the presence of spirochetes in the brains of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) patients, we have studied (post mortem) the hippocampus region in the brains of similarly affected AD patients utilizing both pathology and immunohistochemistry. Our findings demonstrate that the plaques, which are characteristically found in AD brains, reveal the presence of biofilms. These biofilms are undoubtedly made by the spirochetes present there; further, we have also found that the biofilms co-localize with the β amyloid that is a signature finding in the disease. Also, we have shown activation of Toll-like receptor 2 in the same areas. We postulate this is related to the disease because this innate immune system molecule cannot penetrate the biofilm to destroy the spirochetes present there, so, inasmuch as it is activated, it destroys the surrounding tissue instead. We compare this destruction to that which is caused by activation of the adaptive immune system, which leads to much more severe devastation, much more rapidly.