Alzheimer's Breakthrough

[waltky]

Scientists Make Major Breakthrough In Fight Against Alzheimer’s...

Scientists Make Major Breakthrough In Fight Against Alzheimer’s Disease
February 27, 2018 - Scientists at the the Cleveland Clinic Lerner Research Institute have successfully reversed Alzheimer's disease in mice, a major breakthrough researchers are hopeful will translate into treatment for humans in the near future.

“To our knowledge, this is the first observation of such a dramatic reversal of amyloid deposition in any study of Alzheimer’s disease mouse models,” said researcher Riqiang Yan in a news release concerning the study. The study was first published in the Journal of Experimental Medicine on February 14.

Researchers found that the deletion of BACE1 in adult mice reversed amyloid deposition and improved cognitive functions. "One of the earliest events in Alzheimer’s disease is an abnormal buildup of beta-amyloid peptide, which can form large, amyloid plaques in the brain and disrupt the function of neuronal synapses. Also known as beta-secretase, BACE1 helps produce beta-amyloid peptide by cleaving amyloid precursor protein (APP)," explains the Rockefeller University Press release. The scientists successfully "generated mice that gradually lose this enzyme as they grow older. These mice developed normally and appeared to remain perfectly healthy over time," notes the release.

Additionally, it was found that the mice's selectively bred offspring also formed plaques at 75 days old, "even though their BACE1 levels were approximately 50% lower than normal. Remarkably, however, the plaques began to disappear as the mice continued to age and lose BACE1 activity, until, at 10 months old, the mice had no plaques in their brains at all." “Our study provides genetic evidence that preformed amyloid deposition can be completely reversed after sequential and increased deletion of BACE1 in the adult,” said Yan. “Our data show that BACE1 inhibitors have the potential to treat Alzheimer’s disease patients without unwanted toxicity. Future studies should develop strategies to minimize the synaptic impairments arising from significant inhibition of BACE1 to achieve maximal and optimal benefits for Alzheimer’s patients.” As noted by Study Finds, there are still many more trials and test that must be completed before there can be testing on humans, but this latest discovery is "an historic step in the right direction."

scientists-successfully-reverse-alzheimers-mice-amanda-prestigiacomo

 

[waltky]

3 Brits and German share Alzheimer's brain research prize...

Alzheimer's researchers win brain prize
6 March 2018 - Four dementia scientists have shared this year's 1m Euro brain prize for pivotal work that has changed our understanding of Alzheimer's disease.

Profs John Hardy, Bart De Strooper, Michael Goedert, based in the UK, and Prof Christian Haass, from Germany, unpicked key protein changes that lead to this most common type of dementia. On getting the award, Prof Hardy said he hoped new treatments could be found. He is donating some of his prize money to care for Alzheimer's patients. Much of the drug discovery research that's done today builds on their pioneering work, looking for ways to stop the build-up of damaging proteins, such as amyloid and tau. Alzheimer's and other dementias affect 50 million people around the world, and none of the treatments currently available can stop the disease.

Path to beating Alzheimer's

Prof Hardy's work includes finding rare, faulty genes linked to Alzheimer's disease. These genetic errors implicated a build-up of amyloid as the event that kick-starts damage to nerve cells in Alzheimer's. This idea, known as the amyloid cascade hypothesis, has been central to Alzheimer's research for nearly 30 years. Together with Prof Haass, who is from the University of Munich, Prof Hardy, who's now at University College London, then discovered how amyloid production changes in people with rare inherited forms of Alzheimer's dementia. Prof Goedert's research at Cambridge University, meanwhile, revealed the importance of another damaging protein, called tau, while Prof De Stooper, who is the new director of the UK Dementia Research Institute at UCL, discovered how genetic errors that alter the activity of proteins called secretases can lead to Alzheimer's processes.

Alzheimer's disease brain (left) compared to normal (right)​

Dr David Reynolds, Chief Scientific Officer at Alzheimer's Research UK, said: "Our congratulations go to all four of these outstanding scientists whose vital contributions have transformed our understanding of the complex causes of Alzheimer's disease. "The fact that three of these researchers work in the UK reflects the country's position as a global leader in dementia research." Prof Hardy said he would be donating around 5,000 euros of his share of the 1m euros from the Lundbeck Foundation to help campaigns to keep Britain in the EU, and called Brexit a "unmitigated disaster" for scientific research. He also pledged his thanks to all the people with Alzheimer's who, over the years, have volunteered to help with dementia research.

Alzheimer's researchers win brain prize

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[strollingbones]

i dont hold out much hope for myself but i am hoping modern meds help my son....i dont think they will be able to reverse my mothers