What if surviving an infection like herpes, pneumonia, or Lyme desease set you up for dementia later in life?For some people that is, sadly, the case, studies by two University of Minnesota researchers indicate. Evidence is mounting that proteins in fragments of bacteria, viruses, or other pathogens left over from battles with our immune system can harm the brain and raise the chance of dementia. These proteins are all termed "antigenic" - i.e., able to provoke an immune response, especially one involving antibody production.But Lisa James, PhD, and Apostolos Georgopoulos, MD, PhD, have also found that many people have genes that shield against such an outcome. And now they have demonstrated their beneficial effects across the populations of entire countries.

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