“It was the summer of ’86. I was 27,” recalls Tanzi. “I remember thinking that for the first time since Dr. Alois Alzheimer described amyloid in 1906, we had a clue about its origin.”
The discoveries never stopped. Scientists around the world have taken hearts and emptied their former selves to continue chipping away at the genes underlying this heartbreaking disease.
Many roads lead to Alzheimer’s disease
With so many genes contributing to the development of Alzheimer’s disease and other types of dementia, scientists believe that each person’s journey may be different.
Dr. Richard Isaacson, director of the Alzheimer’s Prevention Clinic at Florida Atlantic University Schmidt College of Brain Health Center, said: medicine.
“Alzheimer’s disease is a multifactorial disease, composed of many different pathologies, and each person has their own path.
But it is not a given. While some people with APOE ε4 do not develop Alzheimer’s disease, others who do not have the gene may notice the characteristic signs of tau tangles and beta-amyloid plaques.
Another pathway to Alzheimer’s disease is inflammation, and “it’s common to all chronic diseases,” Farrar said. It seems to be involved in the way it is removed from the brain.
Increased funding
Edelmayer said one focus of his research has been to find treatments that target inflammation in the immune system and the brain, while other research has focused on cell metabolism and how cells use energy. are investigating.
Scientists are also trying to understand more about how brain cells are connected and communicate through synapses.
Researchers are racing to find a breakthrough in treatment, backed by additional funding from the public and private sectors in recent years, Edelmeyer added. It has funded more than $300 million in over 920 projects in the country.
“We want to focus on strategies that are not only culturally appropriate, but also effective and scalable around the world.
Search for existing drugs
Another focus of research is investigating existing drugs that might prevent Alzheimer’s disease from taking root in the brain.
Tanzi and his team have spent seven years testing drugs already approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in a “brain” in a dish. Because the FDA has already confirmed the safety of these drugs, finding candidates from that group could accelerate federal approval of drugs for Alzheimer’s disease and bring treatment to patients faster. he said.
Tanzi also tested natural products such as herbs, spices, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants for their ability to influence plaque and tangles in his tiny brain creation.
“We were able to rapidly screen all approved pharmaceuticals and over 1,000 natural products,” said Tanzi. “And now there are over 150 identified drugs and natural products that can be tested in clinical trials that affect plaque, tangles, or neuroinflammation.”
“It’s all about giving the right medicine to the right people at the right time during the course of the disease,” he told CNN.
“Many people may not know this, but after the age of 40, almost all of us begin to build up the early pathology of Alzheimer’s disease: amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles in the brain. “It’s part of life, just like most of us start making little plaques in our arteries from cholesterol.”
In fact, Tanzi says that if science had the ability to do it safely and affordably, about 30 to 40 million Americans would currently benefit from amyloid-lowering drugs in their brains. presumed to have a large amount of amyloid.
“I would say that amyloid is like matches, and tangles are like bushfires that propagate and spread over decades.” , it is neuroinflammation.”
By the time a person shows signs of cognitive decline, “a wildfire of neuroinflammation is burning,” he adds, it’s too late to save the brain significantly and improve thinking and memory skills.
“The elephant in the room is to wait until the brain has deteriorated to the point of dysfunction before treating the disease.” It’s like asking you to wait until
“Amyloid removal at the time didn’t always help,” she said. It took.”
lifestyle interventions
Alzheimer’s disease screening tools speed up research and help clinicians detect cases of Alzheimer’s disease at an early stage. However, most current tests are either invasive, such as spinal taps, or very expensive, such as positron emission tomography or PET scans, and insurance companies often refuse to cover them.
“Ultimately, we need screening tools that are scalable, non-invasive, and reliably cost-effective for patients and their families,” said Edelmayer. “If you can get there, blood tests are truly the holy grail. We’re not there yet, but we’re getting closer. Ask me in two more years.”
“There was indeed cognitive improvement at 18 months in both women and men when compared to control populations,” said Isaacson, who authored the study. He said even those with ε4 saw cognitive benefits.
“I am very cautious about using words like treatment,” Isaacson said. We also hope that by reducing the risk, we can delay the pathology sufficiently so that the person can move away from something else before they develop dementia.” “
All of these research approaches “bring us to the threshold of a revolutionary new era in Alzheimer’s disease research,” Edelmayer said. “Now is the time we must confront, especially for those currently suffering from this disease.”
Source: www.cnn.com
