New Alzheimer’s treatment – A new treatment for one of the most common forms of dementia, Alzheimer’s, has been deemed by researchers to be absolutely spectacular.
Clinical trials have been underway in this thorough and well-conducted research study carried out in mice with features of Alzheimer’s disease. By administration of a vaccine via injection has reached the intended target and helped improve metabolism in brain regions associated with thinking and memory.
Dr Susan Kohlhaas, director of research at Alzheimer’s Research UK, said:
“Early results in a behavioural task suggest the mice had improved memory and thinking, hinting that this could be a promising new approach and one that has so far not been tested in Alzheimer’s drugs in clinical trials.”
Previous treatments, which attempted to remove the plaques, often failed to live up to expectations and promises.
A team of scientists have addressed the protein before deposition. Professor Mark Carr advised that early tests results showed that disease progression in mice had been completely halted. He also said using a vaccine or antibody to block the protein had worked well. Professor Carr has said this research opens up the possibility to not only treat Alzheimer’s once symptoms are detected but also to potentially vaccinate against the disease before symptoms appear
The cause of Alzheimer’s may be a result of a type of protein adherence to brain cells. There is a strong belief that the amyloid beta protein forms ‘plaques’, which damage the brain, eventually resulting in the death of affected cells.
This is positive news as Research conducted in 2019 showed that there were over 850,000 people with dementia in the UK (Alzheimer’s Society, 2019). Represents a statistic of 1 in every 14 members of the population aged 65 years and over.
With the current rate of prevalence statistically it is believed that in 2040 over 1.5 million people in the UK will suffer from dementia, of which Alzheimer’s is one of the most common forms of the disease.
For more information about Alzheimer’s and this research please follow the links below: