Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2024 Jun 6;21(1):152.
doi: 10.1186/s12974-024-03139-y.

Contribution of CNS and extra-CNS infections to neurodegeneration: a narrative review

Pinja Kettunen  1 , Jari Koistinaho  2 , Taisia Rolova  1
Affiliations
Review

Contribution of CNS and extra-CNS infections to neurodegeneration: a narrative review

Pinja Kettunen et al. J Neuroinflammation. .

Abstract

Central nervous system infections have been suggested as a possible cause for neurodegenerative diseases, particularly sporadic cases. They trigger neuroinflammation which is considered integrally involved in neurodegenerative processes. In this review, we will look at data linking a variety of viral, bacterial, fungal, and protozoan infections to Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, multiple sclerosis and unspecified dementia. This narrative review aims to bring together a broad range of data currently supporting the involvement of central nervous system infections in the development of neurodegenerative diseases. The idea that no single pathogen or pathogen group is responsible for neurodegenerative diseases will be discussed. Instead, we suggest that a wide range of susceptibility factors may make individuals differentially vulnerable to different infectious pathogens and subsequent pathologies.

Keywords: Alzheimer’s disease; Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis; Brain infections; CNS infection; Multiple sclerosis; Neurodegeneration; Neuroinflammation; Parkinson’s disease.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
A variety of CNS infections are associated with AD, PD, ALS, and MS. IL2RA Interleukin-2 receptor subunit alpha
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Seaks CE, Wilcock DM. Infectious hypothesis of Alzheimer disease. PLoS Pathog. 2020;16(11):e1008596. doi: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1008596. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Cabezudo D, Baekelandt V, Lobbestael E. Multiple-hit hypothesis in Parkinson’s disease: LRRK2 and inflammation. Front Neurosci. 2020;28:14. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Boyd RJ, Avramopoulos D, Jantzie LL, McCallion AS. Neuroinflammation represents a common theme amongst genetic and environmental risk factors for Alzheimer and Parkinson diseases. J Neuroinflammation. 2022;19(1):223. doi: 10.1186/s12974-022-02584-x. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. McEntire CRS, Song KW, McInnis RP, Rhee JY, Young M, Williams E, et al. Neurologic manifestations of the World Health Organization’s list of pandemic and epidemic diseases. Front Neurol. 2021;22:12. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Ceban F, Ling S, Lui LMW, Lee Y, Gill H, Teopiz KM, et al. Fatigue and cognitive impairment in Post-COVID-19 Syndrome: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Brain Behav Immun. 2022;101:93–135. doi: 10.1016/j.bbi.2021.12.020. - DOI - PMC - PubMed