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Alzheimer's disease is one of the leading causes of death in the United States. Despite the growing number of patients, no treatment is available, making it the only disease that can not be treated among the leading causes of death in the country.
Health care providers are currently focusing on maintaining mental function, managing behavioral symptoms and slowing down the effects of Alzheimer's disease to help patients. To date, scientists are still struggling to create an effective treatment for Alzheimer's disease.
But a recent study offers new insights into how treatments have failed to stop the disease. The researchers found that there is a specific gene that blocks treatments in some patients but not in others, the Medical News Today reported on Monday.
The gene, called CHRFAM7A or fusion gene, is present only in 75% of cases. It fuses a gene that encodes an acetylcholine neurotransmitter receptor and an enzyme called kinase.
Acetylcholine promotes memory and learning. However, the fusion gene is only found in humans.
This means that treatments for Alzheimer's disease will appear to be effective in animal and laboratory tests, but not in humans.
"Since this human fusion gene was not present in animal models and in the screening systems used to identify drugs, 75% of Alzheimer's patients carrying this gene are less likely to benefit and are therefore at a disadvantage. ", said Kinga Szigeti, director of the study. Director of the Center for Alzheimer's Disease and Memory Disorders at the University of Buffalo in New York, said.
"This could explain the translation gap," she added.
How do drugs work against Alzheimer's disease
About three out of four Alzheimer drugs available are designed to target acetylcholine receptors, Szigeti said. While some treatments focus on the alpha-7 acetylcholine receptor.
For the study, the Szigeti team badyzed some inhibitors in patients carrying the CHRFAM7A gene and those who did not. The researchers collected data from 345 people with Alzheimer's disease from a 10-year study conducted by the Texas Alzheimer's Research and Care Consortium.
The team discovered that changing the treatments of the Alpha 7 receptor could better treat Alzheimer's disease. However, medications work on some people.
The researchers called for a more personalized approach to testing and drug development based on the presence of the fusion gene. Their findings indicate that a drug could be effective for 25% of patients with Alzheimer's disease, while 75% of them might find it ineffective.
According to estimates, more than five million people currently have Alzheimer's disease in the United States. Public health officials expect 16 million Americans by 2050.
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