Picking your nose could increase your risk of killer Alzheimer’s, scientists warn

ADMIT it: do you every sneakily pick your nose?

Scientists claim the gross habit most of us indulge in in private could increase your risk of Alzheimer’s disease.

NatureA study conducted on mice found that picking your nose could cause proteins associated with Alzheimer’s disease to build up in the brain[/caption]

The study carried out by Griffith University researchers on mice found a small link between nose-picking and the build-up of proteins associated with the brain-robbing disease.

They said routing around your nose could damage the protective internal tissues, making it easier for dangerous bacteria to reach your brain.

The brain in turn responds to this intrusion in a way that mirrors conditions created by Alzheimer’s disease.

It’s a devastating illness that gradually affects sufferers’ brain function and memory, becoming more severe as time goes by.

The team of researchers in Queensland, Australia, ran tests on a bacteria called Chlamydia pneumoniae – this is a rare type of germ that can cause respiratory tract infections like pneumonia.

The bacteria has also been discovered in the brains of people with late-onset dementia – research conducted in 1998 found it in 17 out of the 19 brain samples assessed.

“Some indirect evidence seems to suggest that infection with the organism might be associated with the disease,” scientists said at the time.

The Griffith University researchers found that the bacteria Chlamydia pneumoniae “used the nerve extending between the nasal cavity and the brain as an invasion path to invade the central nervous system”.

When there damage to the thin tissue lining the nose – called the nasal epithelium – nerve infections were more severe, researchers added.

Cells in the mouse brains responded to the bacteria by depositing more amyloid beta proteins – these are a “hallmark of Alzheimer’s”.

A key component of the brain robbing disease is the buildup of plaques, which form when beta-amyloid pieces clump together, Alzheimer’s Association said.

Co-author of the study and head of the Clem Jones Centre for Neurobiology and Stem Cell Research, Professor James St John, said: “We’re the first to show that Chlamydia pneumoniae can go directly up the nose and into the brain, where it can set off pathologies that look like Alzheimer’s disease.

“We saw this happen in a mouse model, and the evidence is potentially scary for humans as well.”

Researchers noted the speed at which the bacteria invaded the mice’s central nervous system, taking between 24 and 72 hours.

“The time-frame for infection of the central by C. pneumoniae was considerably faster than what has previously been shown,” they wrote in the study published in Scientific Reports.

They said olfactory nerve in the nose is offers a short pathway to the brain for bacteria and viruses.

It’s not clear from the study whether this process would also occur in humans.

On top of that, Alzheimer’s is brought on by a series of complex mechanisms and recent research has cast doubt on whether it can be said that amyloid proteins cause the disease – but it must be noted that this study is controversial and researchers were accused of falsifying their results.

Professor St John said: “We need to do this study in humans and confirm whether the same pathway operates in the same way.

“It’s research that has been proposed by many people, but not yet completed. What we do know is that these same bacteria are present in humans, but we haven’t worked out how they get there.”

The team also want to look into whether whether or not the increased amyloid-beta protein deposits are a natural immune response that can be reversed when the infection is fought off.

In the meantime, the scientist suggested you abstain from picking your nose or trimming your nose hairs.

“We don’t want to damage the inside of our nose and picking and plucking can do that,” he said.