by Alan Rada
For many years now scientists have tried to find a cure or treatment against Alzheimer’s, after many tests, all end up falling apart.
However, it is not to sit idle as recently European scientists say they are ahead of scheduling new treatment for this terrible condition that, according to the Alzheimer’s Association, is the most common dementia disease and affects about 5 to 7 millions of Americans today.
According to Michele Vendruscolo, the author of this study, and a molecular chemist at the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom, this drug may work well for the amyloid beta oligomers since the latter are quite unstable, constantly breaking down and reforming.
On the other hand, the team of researchers developed a technique that detects potentially new compounds as a function of how they slow down the regeneration of oligomers.
How Does Alzheimer Really Progress?
Although many facets involved are still unknown, as this disease is developing English and Swedish scientists are convinced that the brain protein called beta-amyloid plays a major role.
At the same time, this protein seems to play an unknown but important role for the brain. Some believe that it protects us from infections. There is also another protein called Tau (known as tangles) can damage the brain and cause the symptoms of Alzheimer’s, but it is believed that the spread of beta amyloid manifests in advance, leading to the progression of this mental condition.
Even the healthiest people who practice sports all their lives like football, athletics or other disciplines have fallen victim to the networks of this disease. In fact, since we are in the NFL preseason, do you know that some researchers believe that brain concussions, caused by contact sports, can lead to Alzheimer?
This was actually one of the subjects of the study conducted by neuropathologist Dr. Bennet Omalu, who investigated the sudden deaths of NFL athletes and concluded the concussions caused by the sport were resulting in huge consequences for their brain. He found large amounts of the protein tau in Mike Webster’s brain, a former Steeler’s center who passed away, which is believes to cause chronic traumatic encephalopathy and Alzheimer.
The investigation of Dr. Omalu resulted in a movie – Concussion – starred by Will Smith and, more importantly, to changes in the NFL that assured more protection gear to the players.
Other research conducted in recent years; show that beta-amyloid protein does not cause damage to the plaques, although it can cause the disease. From another look, amyloid beta molecules that badly adhere to each other, form smaller groups known as oligomers, being these oligomers, not the plaques, which seem to be the most toxic and harmful to adjacent brain cells.
Vendruscolo stressed that the medicines candidates to treat Alzheimer’s, identified with their method, can drastically reduce the number of oligomers produced during the aggregation of proteins.
In a statement from the University of Cambridge, Vendruscolo described the research as a “world first“, an innovative plan to attack the cause of the Alzheimer disease. At the same time, he and his team published an article detailing their method known as SKAR (Structure-Kinetic Activity-Relationship) in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
In addition, he stressed that Alzheimer’s is one of the many neurological disorders caused by the incorrect coupling of proteins. The authors also believe that this approach to anti-oligomer drugs can help treat other similar conditions such as Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease and Parkinson.
Complementary Studies
Wren Therapeutics, a biotech company founded by Vendruscolo, and his team, want to develop these new medicines. According to him, these methods and medications are being tested in worms and mice with results so far not at all negligible. He also said that he would like to try these molecules in humans soon.
Currently, other scientists are testing antibodies that target oligomers in human tests.
In conclusion, while some medical assumptions may be a bit hasty, we are at a time when we see discoveries all the time. We know that there is still a long way to go until we find a treatment or drug that – if it does not eradicate the disease – that can control it.
We all know how sad and painful it is to have a family member with Alzheimer’s disease, debating not only the affected person but also their environment. We hope that in the following months, there will be more advances and they will not end up in nothing like many other studies that failed in their results.
Let’s not lose hope. With the advance of science and technology, we are sure that we will find the best way to treat these degenerative conditions of the brain. We must accompany our loved ones in the best possible way while we can.