You may have heard about a study that suggested it was theoretically possible for Alzheimer’s to be passed or contracted through certain medical procedures. While the study itself is intriguing, the possibility of this happening is extremely remote. This will recap the findings of that study.

  I should remind you that Alzheimer’s and CJD are members of the same family. The infectious agent in both is a Prion, but Alzheimer’s has a specific protein. As a part of this study, eight cases were patients that contacted CJD through Human Growth Hormones. They were between 36 and 51 years of age, decidedly below the usual age of contacting Alzheimer’s, yet 7 of the 8 CJD cases had the Alzheimer’s protein. This was a CJD study. The link to Alzheimer’s was the surprise finding and it is also one of questionable relevance.

  The patients that had died of CJD had contracted the disease through treatment with human growth hormones. While the study was brilliant and insightful and has been proven through tests in laboratory animals, this kind of treatment was abandoned over 20 years ago. While researchers praised the study, they did not see an increased risk to medical workers of contracting Alzheimer’s through exposure to bloodborne pathogens or neurological tissue.

  Over 450 have died from CJD that originated from human growth hormone treatment. Today, that type of treatment is banned. Today’s treatment uses synthetic hormones which avoid those risks. Thus, it seems to me that for embalmers and death care industry workers, the study is interesting but not much else. The study is reported in the September 9, 2015 issue of the journal Nature.

  Compliance Plus advises mortuary workers to follow the advice of the World Health Organization and Centers for Disease and Control that posted remains should not be embalmed. Compliance Plus advises clients that no CJD case, posted or not posted, should be embalmed. This is because the trocar is likely to come into contact with spinal fluid. Conventional disinfection techniques will not destroy the CJD Prion. Even a conventional autoclave will not destroy it. It requires a special autoclave that is used by some pathology labs. To our knowledge, no funeral home has access to this type of disinfection apparatus.

  Sometimes, you will meet an embalmer that will say he or she embalmed a CJD case and they were not infected. Wish them well. The incubation period can stretch to 60 or more years. We stand by our admonition.