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Is There a Brain Microbiome?
An anonymous reader quotes an opinion piece from The Guardian, written by Prof Mark Pallen and Dr Aimee Parker (Quadram Institute, Norwich), Prof Nick Loman (University of Birmingham), Prof Alan Walker (University of Aberdeen): Contrary to what is implied in [this article], the weight of expert opin...
Similarly, cognitive benefits of vaccines can be explained by their role in preventing infections or modulating immune responses and inflammation, rather than any impact on a "brain microbiome." Over a decade of research indicates that contamination, typically from laboratory reagents, is the most plausible explanation for such findings, particularly when even supposedly ultrapure water has been shown to harbor DNA signatures and culturable microbes. In the article mentioned above, author Amy Fleming discusses the emerging research connecting infections such as Borrelia, Cryptococcus, and herpes viruses to reversible dementia, challenging the long-held belief that the brain is sterile.
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