SCIENTISTS believe they have found a jab which can reverse Alzheimer’s disease in mice – which could soon be effective in humans.
The illness, which slowly erodes memory and thinking skills, is currently incurable.
The tests were conducted in mice but could be trialed in humans[/caption]
It is also the leading cause of dementia in Britain, affecting more than 600,000 people.
A study involving University College London repaired the “blood-brain barrier” – a layer of cells protecting the brain – to let the body clear toxic proteins naturally.
It is thought amyloid-beta toxins build up uncontrollably in Alzheimer’s disease and slowly kill off brain cells, leading to dementia.
The blood-brain barrier (BBB) acts as a “gatekeeper” to prevent this in healthy people, but malfunctions in Alzheimer’s.
Researchers used nanoparticles less than 0.25 per cent the width of a human hair, made from safe medical-grade plastics, to restore the barrier’s normal function.
The new treatment given to sick lab mice via jab repaired the BBB function and the body began clearing toxic clumps out of the brain by itself with “remarkable efficacy”.
Study author Junyang Chen from West China Hospital of Sichuan University, said: “Only one hour after the injection, we observed a reduction of 50 to 60 per cent in amyloid-beta amount inside the brain.”
Co-author Prof Giuseppe Battaglia added: “This allowed the whole system to recover its balance.”
He explained that the nanoparticles “remind” the barrier’s cells how to function properly, restarting the natural process that removes waste from the brain.
And he thinks it could soon be effective in humans in the “next few years”.
“The next step is to complete detailed safety and toxicology studies to ensure the treatment is ready for clinical use,” he told the Daily Mail.
“If those go as expected, early-stage human trials could begin within the next few years, opening the door to a completely new way of treating Alzheimer’s disease by repairing the brain’s own defense system.”
The technique, revealed in the journal Signal Transduction and Targeted Therapy, also appeared to reduce symptoms.
One mouse that was in a condition equal to a 60-year-old person with Alzheimer’s had recovered to behave like a younger, healthier person within six months.
Ways to lower your risk of Alzheimer’s
There are things you can do to reduce your own risk of developing dementia, including Alzheimer’s.
No single behaviour is guaranteed to prevent dementia – but there’s lots of evidence to suggest that making tweaks to your lifestyle choices could affect your risk.
Dementia risk is lowest in people who have healthy behaviours in mid-life – from the age of 40 to 65 – according Alzheimer’s Society.
Here are a few easy changes you can make:
- Exercise regularly to boost your heart health and circulation and help maintain a healthy weight.
- Drink less alcohol – try to have no more than 14 units of alcohol a week, about one pint of beer or a small glass of wine each day. If you regularly drink much more than this, you are increasing your risk of damage to your brain and other organs, and so increasing your risk of dementia.
- Don’t smoke – it does a lot of harm to the circulation of blood around the body, particularly the blood vessels in the brain, as well as the heart and lungs.
- Engaging in social activities to help to build up your brain’s ability to relieve stress and improve your mood – depression and social isolation have both been linked to dementia.
- Manage health conditions, such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol or diabetes, which can increase the risk of getting dementia.
- Protect your eyesight and hearing – vision loss increases a person’s risk of developing dementia. The same goes for hearing loss, which can also be an early symptom of dementia.
- Wear a helmet – as traumatic brain injuries can start a process in the brain where the substances that cause Alzheimer’s disease build up around the injured area.
Source: Alzheimer’s Society
