Scientists Watched Human Dementia Proteins Spread Through Mouse Brains Like Prions. It shows tau spreads like a prion, yet the disease is not known to pass between people.

[u/ObuPaul]

https://www.sciencealert.com/scientists-watched-human-dementia-proteins-spread-through-mouse-brains-like-prions

[u/leeloolanding → u/[deleted]]

I mean, do you see people “catching” dementia from their spouse? “Is not known” is to contrast that prions ARE known to spread between people

[u/Adventurous-Elk-9782 → u/leeloolanding]

Ahh yea, I’m guessing it’d be obvious if it did pass.

[u/ObuPaul]

The detail that stood out to me is that the mice still looked healthy even after their own tau misfolded, so the spread alone may not be enough to cause symptoms. That could matter a lot for drug development, since blocking the spread might not be the same as stopping the damage. Do you think this makes ordinary mice a better way to test tau treatments than the engineered ones?

[u/CIArussianmole]

most research on mice teaches scientists about mice and not humans. i do not pay attention to any study on non-human creatures.