“The Surprising Link Between Nose Picking and Alzheimer’s Disease: New Study Reveals Findings”

In cases where nose picking damages internal tissues, certain critical species of bacteria have free access to the brain, warn scientists who say their presence can cause signs of Alzheimer’s disease.

There are a lot of caveats to this. The studies were conducted on mice, not humans, but the research findings should not be overlooked.

The new study could give us more details about how Alzheimer’s disease is triggered.

A team of researchers led by scientists from Griffith University in Australia conducted several tests with a bacterium called Chlamydia pneumoniae.

This bacteria can infect humans and cause pneumonia. It has also been found in most human brains affected by late-onset dementia.

It has been shown that in mice the bacteria can climb the olfactory nerve (which connects the nasal cavity and the brain).

Furthermore, it was noted that when there was damage to the nasal epithelium (the thin tissue that lines the roof of the nasal cavity and can be damaged by picking the nose), nerve infections became worse.

This caused a greater amount of amyloid-beta protein to be deposited in the brains of the mice subjected to the tests.

This protein is released in response to infections and is also found in significant concentrations in people suffering from Alzheimer’s disease.

“We are the first to demonstrate that Chlamydia pneumoniae can enter directly through the nose and reach the brain, where it can trigger pathologies that resemble Alzheimer’s disease. The evidence is potentially frightening for humans as well,” says neuroscientist James St John of Griffith University in Australia, according to sciencealert.com.

The scientists were surprised by how quickly the bacteria settled into the mice’s central nervous system, with infection occurring within 24 to 72 hours. It is believed that bacteria and viruses travel very quickly from the nose to the brain, which is why the infection set in so quickly.

Although it is not certain that the effects will be the same in humans, it is still important that studies on this topic continue, scientists say

“We need to do this study in humans and confirm if the same pathway works in the same way. It is a research that has been proposed by many people but has not yet been completed. What we do know is that the same bacteria are present in humans, but we haven’t found out how they get there,” says St John.

How dangerous is the hollow nose

About 9 out of 10 people pick their nose. Although the link between this gesture and Alzheimer’s disease is not clear, this study should give us food for thought and make us stop picking our noses.

Future studies are planned, but until then scientists suggest nose picking and nose hair pulling should be avoided. They say that the protective tissue of the nose can be damaged when we scratch our nose.

An unresolved question scientists sought to answer is whether or not the increased deposits of amyloid-beta protein represent a natural, healthy immune response that can be reversed when the infection is fought.

“Once you get past the age of 65, the risk factor goes up immediately, but we’re also looking at other causes because it’s not just age, it’s also environmental exposure. We think bacteria and viruses are essential,” says St John.

The study was published in Scientific Reports.