Scientists develop ‘world first’ treatment that battles Alzheimer’s by targeting toxic particles that trigger the disease
The medical breakthrough could lead to a new generation of drugs being tested within two years
SCIENTISTS have developed a new way of battling Alzheimer’s.
In research being hailed as a world first, they aim to target toxic particles that trigger the brain disease.
Their work could lead to tests on new drug treatments by 2020.
Experts at Cambridge University and from Sweden have identified these particles as the prime cause of Alzheimer’s and worked out a formula for targeting them.
Until now, drugs have tackled Alzheimer’s symptoms and attempts to discover medicines to prevent or slow it have failed.
But in findings published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Cambridge researcher Prof Michele Vendruscolo says: “We’ve devised the first strategy to go after the cause.
“The hope is that new drugs can be developed.”
A healthy brain has a quality control system that gets rid of any excessive amounts of these proteins.
In Alzheimer’s, proteins called oligomers which usually help brain cells to function normally “go rogue” by forming clumps that kill healthy nerve cells.
A separate study, by the University Hospital of Tubingen in Germany, has shown that two and half hours a week of exercise can delay the effects of Alzheimer’s. The brain scores of people who did physical activity like swimming and running for 150 minutes a week performed better.
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Over time, the brain begins to shrink, causing memory failure and personality changes.
Dementia is the leading cause of UK deaths and the only one in the top ten without a treatment to prevent, cure or slow it.
Its cost to the nation is set to more than double to £55billion over the next 25 years as better treatment for other illnesses leads to longer lifespans.
WALK FOR MEMORY
A DAILY ten-minute walk may help ward off dementia, say experts.
A Californian study using MRI brain scans found that even mild exercise boosted the hippocampus, the area of the brain responsible for storing memories.
“It’s one of the first regions to deteriorate as we get older — and much more severely in Alzheimer’s disease,” said research co-leader Prof Michael Yassa.
It comes as a separate German study showed that 150 minutes of exercise a week can stave off the symptoms of Alzheimer’s.
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