Start Here! The Infected Neuron's Map
A living, categorized index of the articles in The Infected Neuron.
Welcome to The Infected Neuron!
This page is a living, continuously updated index of all articles published on The Infected Neuron, organized by subject for easy navigation.
If you're curious to learn more about The Infected Neuron or my background, please visit this page: https://theinfectedneuron.substack.com/about.
So, here’s the list of what The Infected Neuron has published so far:
I) The Origin Series
1. Origin of Neurodegeneration
The Case for Virus Origin of Neurodegenerative Diseases Is Getting Stronger and More Important. But if I told you this two decades ago, you’d think I’m crazy.
Everyday Viruses Could Be Priming Our Brain for Neurodegeneration Over Time. It's a slow-burn effect.
2. Origin of Alzheimer’s Disease
The Viral Origin of Alzheimer’s Disease Remains Undecoded. But What We’ve Seen So Far Is Worrying. Viruses like HSV-1 and SARS-CoV-2 might trigger Alzheimer’s disease.
Does the Amyloid Model of Alzheimer’s Disease Still Make Sense? My Journey to Resolve the Gaps. Whoever can pinpoint the missing piece will be on the verge of solving this seemingly unsolvable disease.
The Origin of Alzheimer's Disease Lies in the Hippocampus. But Why This Area? Pinpointing what exactly makes the hippocampus so vulnerable to the neurotoxic effects of plaques and tangles.
3. Origin of Parkinson’s Disease
Solving the Cause of Parkinson’s Disease, As An Academic in This Field. Building on and completing the “gut-first hypothesis” of Parkinson’s disease.
4. Origin of Multiple Sclerosis
How a Single Study Proved the Cause of Multiple Sclerosis Is a Virus. It proved what we thought couldn’t be proved.
5. Origin of Neuron Function
The Miraculous Origin of Brain Intelligence in Land Animals (Like Us). When aquatic animals first transitioned to land, a virus-like element probably hijacked their neurons.
Our Neurons Mastered Electrical Signals 450 Million Years Ago — Thanks to a Virus Infection. On the marvelous origin of the neuron’s myelin sheath.
6. Origin of Amyloid
Amyloid Can Explain the Origin of Life, Despite Its Disease-Causing Reputation. On the amyloid paradox (Part I).
Beyond Disease: How Amyloid Shaped Early Life Across All Three Domains of Life. On the amyloid paradox (Part II).
Amyloids: What Evolution Reveals About Them and Why They Turn Against Us. On the amyloid paradox (part III).
II) The Vaccine Series
1. Shingles Vaccine and Dementia
An Unexpected Ally In Dementia Prevention: Shingles Vaccination. The strongest causal evidence yet from a ‘natural experiment’ study.
Shingles Vaccine Protects Against Dementia, But How Strong is the Effect? Here's My Attempt to Decode It. It could actually cut off almost half of all dementia cases in women.
The Reason Why Shingles Vaccine is Highly Protective Against Dementia. It may not have anything to do with shingles after all.
2. Influenza Vaccine and Dementia
Can Flu Shots Protect Your Brain Against Dementia? How Strong Is the Evidence? I did an updated and targeted meta-analysis to find out.
Flu Vaccine and Brain Health: What the Biological Evidence Says. It may do more than just prevent the neurodegenerative effects of influenza virus.
3. Chickenpox Vaccine and Dementia
By 2060, the Incidence of Dementia May Drop Thanks to a Childhood Vaccine. The childhood chickenpox vaccine wasn’t meant to fight dementia—but it just might, by accident.
III) Infection and Neurodegeneration
1. Covid-19 and Dementia
Covid-19 Could Be Eating Your Neurons. How Covid-19 fulfils the Bradford Hill criteria for causation and raises your lifetime risk of dementia.
2. Covid-19 and Parkinson’s Disease
Coming soon
3. Influenza and Dementia
Does Influenza Raise the Risk of Dementia? An Updated Meta-Analysis. Apparently, the effects may be comparable to, if not greater than, Covid-19.
4. Influenza and Parkinson’s Disease
Influenza and Parkinson’s: How Big Is the Risk? An Updated Meta-Analysis. Making sense of the complicated epidemiological link between influenza and Parkinson's disease.
IV) Infection and Psychiatry
1. Covid-19 and Schizophrenia
Future of Covid: Will Schizophrenia Haunt the Next Generation? A study finds altered schizophrenia genes in Covid-positive pregnancies—and I asked the study author what it could mean for the next generation.
2. Prenatal Infections and Autism
Prenatal Infections Can Amplify Autism Risk (and Help Explain 1 in 7 Cases). But research suggests that managing fever during pregnancy could make a difference in reducing that risk.
Prenatal Infections and Autism Risk: The Biology Underpinnings Explained. How infections can rewire the developing fetal brain in ways that may lead to autism.
3. Herpesviruses and Depression
Role of Mind-Altering Herpesviruses in Major Depression. Major depression is as much neurobiological as it is psychological. And certain viruses invade and disrupt neurobiological processes in the brain
V) Post-viral Neurological Sequelae
1. Long Measles
Long Measles: It's like Long Covid, But Deadlier. How the measles virus can erode the brain and leave lasting neurological disabilities.
2. Long COVID
An Unexpected Virus Culprit is Found in Long COVID. Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is a bigger threat than we thought, and we still don’t know how to treat it.
Most Long COVID Biomarkers Are Not That Useful, But One Truly Stands Out. My observations as an academic who has published in this area.
3. Long Influenza
Coming soon
VI) The Microbiome Series
1. The Brain Microbiome
What If Something Else Lives in Your Brain? The Science and Secrets of Brain Microbiome. What it is and why it matters.
2. The Oral Microbiome
Coming soon
3. The Gut Microbiome
Coming soon
Thank you so much. It's helpful to have all this organized and in one place for reference.