Earlier quoted context omitted.
This research could make it only more cruel. Proof that it is caused by a germ, that is may be catching, would suggest that sufferers should be isolated from healthy people to prevent spread of the infection. Id be happy if it were caused by bacteria or a virus. Those we can deal with. But what if it is a prion like bse? Could it linger in houses? Are nursing homes now a biohazard? Dark days. The link between viruses…
It's almost certainly not infectious in that kind of way or you'd notice the nurses in the old folks homes getting it.
"Neurosurgeons were more likely to die of Alzheimer disease, other nonneoplastic nonvascular nervous system disease, leukemia, and aircraft accidents, when compared with the general population."
That looks like persons exposed to the brains of patients may be catching something.
What if it was a germ? How would one go about finding it? Where would one find the non-infected population with which to compare? It may be a combination of a germ and genetics and that germ may be pervasive in our environment, but that doesn't mean the germ cannot be isolated or even eradicated. So it is worth investigation. We may need to find people (monks?) who have lived without exposure to people with dementia, an interesting anthropological problem imho.