The Lipid Invasion Model Opens Up New Pathways for Research and Treatment of Alzheimer’s Disease

Dr. Jonathan Rudge, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Reading, presents a new argument for the cause of Alzheimer’s Disease through his latest study that was published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease Reports.

According to Dr. Rudge’s Lipid Invasion Model, external lipids such as cholesterol and fatty acids are able to pass through the blood-brain barrier because of damage to this physiological shield. Contrary to previous studies, Rudge explained that beta-amyloid is just one of several factors that damage the blood-brain barrier.

Among the causes of damage to the blood-brain barrier are:

• old age
• head injury
• hypertension
• smoking
• obesity
• diabetes
• chronic sleep deprivation
• stress

Once the blood-brain barrier gets damaged, it is very easy for external lipids to invade the brain and cause serious consequences.

“These external lipids are managed differently to those typically found within the brain,” said Dr. Rudge. “My theory proposes that these invading lipids are resulting in brain damage, like brain shrinkage, and development of amyloid plaques and ‘tau tangles,’ which causes the behaviors characteristic of Alzheimer’s, such as memory loss, sleep disorders, and paranoia.”

Dr. Rudge stated that his Lipid Invasion Model is similar to Alois Alzheimer’s original published research in 1906, wherein the German psychiatrist and neuroanatomist mentioned excess lipids in the brain of his patient who had a ‘peculiar severe disease process of the cerebral cortex.’ But the medical world hardly paid attention to his report.

Now, Dr. Rudge is pushing his Lipid Invasion Model in order to pave new pathways for the treatment, detection, and prevention of Alzheimer’s Disease. He still agrees with the amyloid hypothesis, but this applies more to the rare and inherited early-onset Alzheimer’s.

When it comes to the more common Alzheimer’s Disease that affects older people and athletes who have suffered serious head trauma, the main cause of the mental illness is none other than damage to the blood-brain barrier.

This new hypothesis also offers new hope that Alzheimer’s Disease can be prevented by adopting lifestyle habits that minimize impacts on the blood-brain barrier, like getting adequate sleep, observing a healthy weight, and avoiding tobacco.