Taking a pill to reduce build-up of toxins in the brain ‘could prevent Alzheimer’s’
Scientists are looking into ways to prevent or reduce the build up of the protein tau which has been linked to the disease
A PILL which could prevent or delay Alzheimer's by reducing the build-up of toxins in the brain may be on the horizon according to a new study.
The new treatment could help control early changes in the brain before symptoms of the disease are evident, experts hope.
They say, the drug could work in a similar way to that of statins in lowering cholesterol and helping prevent heart disease - just for the brain.
It is known that a build up of the protein tau is thought to play a key role in the development of Alzheimer's disease - the most common form of dementia.
And so scientists, at Baylor College of Medicine in Texas, set out to investigate if they could prevent or reduce the accumulation of tau protein in the brain.
Such a breakthrough, could they believe, lead to the development of new drugs to ward off the disease.
Dr Huda Zoghbi, from Baylor and Texas Children's Hospital, said: "Common diseases like Parkinson's, Alzheimer's and dementia are caused, in part, by abnormal accumulation of certain proteins in the brain.
"Some proteins become toxic when they accumulate; they make the brain vulnerable to degeneration.
"Tau is one of those proteins involved in Alzheimer's disease and dementia."
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While much of the research into Alzheimer's disease to date has focused on the latter stages of the illness, the researchers at Baylor chose to concentrate their efforts on the earlier stages.
Dr Lasagna-Reeves, who is first author of the study, said: "Scientists in the field have been focusing mostly on the final stages of Alzheimer's disease.
"Here we tried to find clues about what is happening at the very early stages of the illness, before clinical irreversible symptoms appear, with the intention of preventing or reducing those early events that lead to devastating changes in the brain decades later."
In order to stop the build up of tau protein in the brain, the researchers first had to identify how that process happens.
Enzymes control the levels of proteins in cells.
In order to find the enzymes responsible for tau proteins, the scientists blocked 600 different enzymes, known as kinases, one by one.
By doing so they identified the culprit, a kinase called Nuak1.
Blocking the production of Nuak1 in the body was linked to lower levels of tau proteins, the researchers discovered.
If we can find drugs that can keep tau at levels that are not toxic for the brain, they we would be able to prevent or delay the development of Alzheimer’s and other diseases caused in part by toxic tau accumulation
Dr Huda Zoghbi, Baylor College of Medicine
By confirming this in three different experiments - in fruit flies, mice and human cells - the researchers said the next step is to develop drugs that will block the production of Nuak1.
This could mean that in the future it might be possible to treat people who are at risk of Alzheimer's disease by keeping levels of the tau protein low.
This approach is similar to the way statins are used to lower cholesterol and thus a person's risk of heart disease.
Dr Zoghbi said: "When people started taking drugs that lower cholesterol, they lived longer and healthier lives rather than dying earlier of heart disease.
"Nobody has thought about Alzheimer's disease in that light.
"Tau in Alzheimer's can be compared to cholesterol in heart disease.
"Tau is a protein that when it accumulates as the person ages, increases the vulnerability of the brain to developing Alzheimer's.
"So maybe if we can find drugs that can keep tau at levels that are not toxic for the brain, they we would be able to prevent or delay the development of Alzheimer's and other diseases caused in part by toxic tau accumulation."
Dr Lasagna-Reeves added: "Just like people now take their cholesterol-lowering medications, people in the future could be taking medications to keep tau levels low and prevent the development of Alzheimer's disease."
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