New treatments for Alzheimer’s disease could be on the horizon after a team of researchers discovered how the degenerative brain condition destroys the connections between brain cells.
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The researchers, led by scientists at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) in Australia, say their findings could lead to more research into possible treatments.
The loss of brain synapses is among the first signs of Alzheimer’s disease. An estimated 5.3 million people suffer the disease in US alone.
Synapses connect brain neurons and needed for every brain function especially for learning and forming memories.
Researchers have found a new molecular mechanism in the new study that directly results into degradation of synapses.
The UNSW-led study attacks the disease from this angle, seeking to better understand how the condition breaks down the structures that connect neurons in the brain, known as synapses. Studying post-mortem brain tissue from the hippocampus – an area highly affected by the disease – the researchers discovered that NCAM2 levels in synapses were lower in Alzheimer’s sufferers than healthy subjects, suggesting that the protein plays a role in the destruction.
According to Dr. Sytnyk, the researcher conducted by the team under him shows that there’s link between loss of synapses and loss of the protein NCAM2 and the toxic effects of beta-amyloid form the basis of that link.
In light of all these devastating facts about Alzheimer’s Disease, any positive news about the potential treatment or prevention of the disease is more than welcome.
However, as important as the impact of this study is for the on-going research on Alzheimer’s disease, not everyone from the scientific community shares the same optimism as the researchers of the study.
The research appeared in the journal Nature Communications. He found that when he is observing changes in the tissue of a woman who died of an odd mental illness.
Alzheimer’s disease, also known as Alzheimer disease, or just Alzheimer’s, is an irreversible, progressive mental deterioration that slowly robs a person of memory and thinking skills, and eventually their ability to perform the routine tasks.
Other medications could help patients with their behavioral symptoms, such as trouble sleeping or feeling anxious or depressed.
For people with mild to moderate Alzheimer’s, donepezil (Aricept®), rivastigmine (Exelon®), or galantamine (Razadyne®) may help. Taking care of the person with Alzheimer’s makes caregivers feel good because they are providing love and comfort.
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Alzheimer’s is the only disease among the top 10 causes of death in America that can not be prevented, cured or even slowed.
