Researchers may have finally found the cause of Alzheimer’s disease

We could be on the eve of a major breakthrough in the fight against Alzheimer’s disease.

This would be a world-historic achievement, as the build-up of toxic molecules in the brain and its potential links to Alzheimer’s disease have long baffled scientists. But recent research has found that the “leak” of a specific toxic compound into the bloodstream could be the root cause of the disease, according to a study in mice recently published in the journal. Plos Biology.

Further research is needed to delve into these findings, especially since they were based on mice and not humans. But it’s okay to feel aroused.

Proteins in the blood can ‘leak’ toxic chemicals into the brain

While this so-called “leak” does not reflect the underlying cause of Alzheimer’s disease in humans, it could nonetheless provide scientists with a new way to track and monitor the onset of the disease, and could help in the development of future treatments to prevent it from happening in the first place. “While we previously knew that the main hallmark of people living with Alzheimer’s disease was the gradual build-up of toxic protein deposits in the brain called beta-amyloid, researchers did not know where the amyloid came from or why it was deposited in the brain ”. Curtin University researcher and lead author of the study John Mamo said in a press release.

The research team found that the compound that collects in the brains of people with Alzheimer’s disease called beta-amyloid – which has long been linked to the onset of dementia – forms outside the brain , then is pushed into the body’s bloodstream via lipoproteins. These lipoproteins can leak, allowing toxic compounds to enter the brain, where they grow in abundance. In mice, this led to higher levels of amyloid production, in addition to greater inflammation in the brain, suggesting a possible causal link between the compound and the early symptoms of neurodegenerative disease. “This ‘blood-to-brain pathway’ is important because if we can manage the blood levels of amyloid lipoproteins and prevent their leakage into the brain, it opens up potential new treatments to prevent Alzheimer’s disease and slow memory loss. “Mamo said in the exit.

Ultrasound therapy may improve new treatments for dementia

Although it will take time to confirm that this beta-amyloid “leak” event is the cause of Alzheimer’s disease and dementia in humans, new treatments are making their way into modern medicine. In June, a study described how bouncing ultrasound waves inside the skull could increase the effectiveness of other treatments for patients with Alzheimer’s disease. This follows further approval from the Food and Drug Administration for the disease’s first treatment in nearly 20 years, despite some controversy within the medical industry. “General feelings [surrounding the new drug, Aduhelm, developed by Biogen] are that this will boost the therapeutic space for Alzheimer’s disease, ”wrote Professor Jürgen Götz, who works with the Queensland Brain Institute and author of the Ultrasonic Wave Study, in an email to IE. “That the drug shows clinical efficacy has to be proven and the company has many years to do so.”

Critically, this drug combined with ultrasound therapy could actually restore memory-forming abilities in humans. But if beta-amyloids and lipoproteins are confirmed as the central catalyst for the onset of Alzheimer’s symptoms like dementia, the fight to spare humans from one of the scariest diseases imaginable may finally start to take serious. , beyond the additional restoration of memory -training capacities, confronting, preventing and perhaps one day reversing the two underlying causes of the effects of Alzheimer’s disease in humans.