4. CHRONIC BACTERIAL INFECTION CAN CAUSE DEMENTIA

Noguchi and Moor (1913), using a simple silver method demonstrated the persistence of Treponema pallidum in the brain of patients with dementia paralytica and made one of the most important discoveries in the history of medicine, in establishing a direct pathogenic link between spirochetes and dementia. Based on their observation it is now generally accepted that Treponema pallidum can cause chronic neuropsychiatric disorders including dementia. In the atrophic or “stationary” form of general paresis, known also as the long standing form of dementia paralytica, the bacterium - Treponema pallidum - is the causative agent for dementia, cortical atrophy, microgliosis and amyloid deposition.