Light therapy targeting the brain plaque



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Rice University research shows that inexpensive light therapy may actually help eliminate beta-amyloid proteins, precursors to dementia and Alzheimer's disease, published in Chem.

The accumulation of beta-amyloid causes the development of cognitive disorders; so far, drugs designed to target these proteins have not shown relative efficacy. Researchers have developed an optical probe that emits 100 times more light when it detects fibers or fibrils of beta-amyloid proteins; the concentrated light then oxidizes the fibers to prevent them from accumulating in the brain and affecting the patient's cognitive abilities. A specific binding site for harmful proteins has been identified, which could pave the way for new drug treatments.

There is now a better understanding of what molecules need to interact with fibrils to bind them; if the complexes can be modified so as to absorb the red light transparent to the tissues, these photochemical modifications may possibly be carried out in live animals and one day in humans.

We do not see the rhenium complex, but they can find the impression of oxidation that it produces on the amyloid peptide that occurs only right next to where it is located binds. This work is important because it provides a high degree of certainty when the molecules can interact with bibril fibril amyloid, and allows us to imagine that it would be possible to someday prevent the symptoms of AD by targeting these fibrils of the same treated to prevent CVD.

Alzheimer's disease is estimated to affect approximately 44 million people worldwide, according to the Alzheimer's Statistics website, which also suggests that only 1 in 4 patients is diagnosed. AD seems to be the most widespread phenomenon in Western Europe, with a global cost badociation of $ 605 billion, equivalent to 1% of world gross domestic product.

Statistics show that 5.3 million Americans suffer from this disease, and that this rate is expected to climb to 16 million by 2020 unless there is a breakthrough. It is projected that citizens aged 85 and over will account for up to 7 million cases by 2050. The results show that African-Americans have the highest prevalence of AD among those aged 85 and over, followed by Hispanics and Caucasians.

Alzheimer's disease was the sixth leading cause of death in the United States. One in three seniors dies of this disease, whose average life expectancy after diagnosis is between 4 and 8 years. Since 2016, the United States alone has spent about $ 236 billion on Alzheimer's care.

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