Dementia and Alzheimer’s: Exciting New Treatments on the Horizon
Dementia is the loss of memory and mental decline suffered by millions of people in the United States. There are many different types of diseases and disorders that cause dementia, and some have been very difficult to understand, much less cure, especially Alzheimer’s. Researchers have been working hard to find ways to slow---or even cure---Alzheimer's disease.
Now, they may finally be making some great progress.
Traditional treatments rely on drug therapy to slow the growth of the plaques and tangles. Newer preventative therapies have been introduced, such as bexarotene, a lymphoma drug, which keeps the plaque from forming. This was a lucky accident that happened when doctors studied the effects that the cancer drug had on the brain. However, even with these advances working for some patients, the disease does continue to progress eventually.
But there might finally be hope in the future.
In the case of Alzheimer's, one common cause of dementia, certain protein fragments build up around nerve cells in the brain, creating what are called amyloid plaques or neurofibrillary tangles. These plaques and tangles eventually cause the death of brain cells, causing many symptoms in patients with Alzheimer's.
Patients eventually forget who they are, have emotional symptoms such as depression or outbursts, often forget loved ones, and tend to decline until the brain isn’t healthy enough to run the body any longer. This is a devastating disease to the patients, their families, and caregivers.
Exciting New Hope With New Technology
A technology called repeated scanning ultrasound (SUS) is being experimented with for the removal of the plaque. It creates sound waves that stimulate the growth of immune cells. These immune cells break up the amyloid plaque and neurofibrillary tangles in the brain and help prevent it from reforming. Another benefit seems to be that the ultrasound may slow the aging of a healthy brain because the technology helps stimulate cell renewal, so it might be useful in other types of dementia, too! This exciting research shows that in mice, the SUS was successful in clearing the plaque in up to 75% of the mice, with improved memory function once the plaque was gone.
Human clinical trials are scheduled to start in 2017.
OK, here’s a bit of medical jargon that might help. Something called IL-33 protein is being experimented with for Alzheimer's patients as well. Delivered in a daily shot, it is thought that IL-33 protein will dissolve the plaque that creates Alzheimer symptoms. Doctors started looking at this protein as a possible treatment when completed research in Europe and Asia showed a higher amount of the IL-33 in healthy brains.
When tested on mice, the IL-33 protein was successful in dissolving plaques and reversing the symptoms of the disease. No new information is available on clinical trials to date, but we’ll be watching for it. These are some of the most promising finds in recent medical news, but there are other avenues that technology and medicine are exploring, too.
Source Links:
https://www.alz.org/braintour/plaques.asp
https://www.nia.nih.gov/alzheimers/publication/part-2-what-happens-brain-ad/hallmarks-ad
https://www.uq.edu.au/news/article/2016/10/research-finds-ultrasound-slows-brain-ageing
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2016/02/could-this-new-alzheimer-s-treatment-restore-memory-function/
http://www.fusfoundation.org/diseases-and-conditions/neurological/alzheimers-disease
https://www.uq.edu.au/news/article/2016/10/research-finds-ultrasound-slows-brain-ageing
http://www.mirror.co.uk/lifestyle/health/cancer-drug-could-prevent-alzheimers-7360529
