Dentistry makes the national news

The papers relate to a post-mortem study of eight patients, who had all received growth hormone treatment as children. The stories explain that researchers in the journal Nature have speculated that seven of the eight patients who showed signs of Alzheimer's in their brains had “caught” the condition from contaminated growth hormones.  The Daily Mirror stated that the theory has sent “shock waves” through the medical world since Alzheimer’s disease affects 500,000 people in the UK.  The news, which also appears in a number of other newspapers, relates that the research team, led by Professor John Collinge, of University College London, suggest that certain surgical procedures should be “looked at” to see if there is any chance they might expose people to a danger of prions - a type of protein which is believed to “seed” the growth of Alzheimer's.

The papers say that surgical instruments, dental treatment/instruments and blood transfusions could be looked at for further links with prion infection.