Infectious etiology and amyloidosis in Alzheimer's disease: The puzzle continues

Recent studies have renewed the debate on infectious etiology in late-onset Alzheimer's disease. Bocharova et al. reported that abundant expression of human beta amyloid (Aβ) in the mouse brain (5XFAD animals) failed to protect against acute herpes simplex virus type 1 infection relative to control mice. While this study does not confirm the antiviral actions of Aβ, it neither supports nor disproves the hypothesis that infection with microbial pathogens is the major cause of Alzheimer's disease.