A study published by the University College London (UCL) has claimed the seeds of Alzheimer’s disease could be passed on through medical procedures¹. However, further research is needed as this was a small study on only eight samples and is not evidence that Alzheimer’s disease can be transmitted during any form of treatment. Chief Medical Officer for England, Professor Dame Sally Davies explained that the NHS take serious precautions to avoid cross-infection, “I can reassure people that the NHS has extremely stringent procedures in place to minimise infection risk from surgical equipment, and patients are very well protected”³. However, to avoid medical transmission, particularly with difficult to clean instruments, sterile single-use offers reassurance that any risk is significantly reduced.

¹ Kelland, K (2015) ‘Study finds seeds of Alzeimer’s may have spread in medical procedure’ Reuters

² NHS Choices (2015) ‘No evidence that Alzheimer’s can be transmitted through surgery’ NHS Online

³ Sample, I (2015) ‘Protein linked to Alzheimer’s could be spread during surgery, say researchers’ the Guardian