Alzheimer's: not from aluminium?

Open warfare is breaking out in the medical research industry over the cause of Alzheimer's, the most common form of senile dementia.

A growing body of evidence that points to aluminium as the cause has suddenly been thrown into question by research by a group of Oxford scientists at the Nuclear Physics Laboratory.

The team has analysed 200 brain plaques taken from seven sufferers, and failed to discover any aluminium. They suggest that previous studies may have been affected by laboratory contamination. Their discovery using a nuclear microscope calls into question current thinking.

Meanwhile, the pro aluminium school has gained further evidence to support its case. Researchers at the University of Waterloo in Ontario have studied the findings of the Ontario Longitudinal Study on Ageing (LSA) , together with water supply qualities, to discover a direct correlation between higher aluminium content in water and impaired mental functioning.