Brain-maiming protein may have spread via surgery: study

PARIS: A dangerous protein that attacks the brain´s blood vessels may have infected children via poorly sterilised surgical instruments decades before the onset of harmful bleeding, researchers reported Thursday. Investigating a quartet of mysterious cases in Britain of brain lesions caused by amyloid beta deposits in young adult patients, they found that all four had undergone brain surgery as kids, suggesting a causal link. “It is introduced into children, takes 30 years to develop, and then — when they are in their 30s — the blood vessels are completely loaded with amyloid beta, which destroys the vessels,” Sebastian Bradner, a professor at University College London´s Institute of Neurology and lead author of a study detailing the findings, told AFP. “This is a very well-known phenomenon in the elderly, but it is unknown in young people.” A large-scale review of medical registries — already in the pipeline — will be needed to confirm the deadly protein can be spread by dirty surgical instruments, he added.