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According to the leading dementia research organization in the UK, the use of injections to combat the development and treatment of Alzheimer's disease could be offered to patients at this point 10 years.
The Alzheimer's Association, a British institution charged with research on the treatment of Alzheimer's disease, dementia and non-profit research, says that a series of recent mutations in the field of treatments and drugs that disrupt the work of harmful genes have brought scientists to a "turning point" in their fight against the disease.
Treatment of Alzheimer's disease in ten years
For decades, researchers have struggled to find a cure for Alzheimer's disease, which affects 46 million people around the world, depending on the target of the harmful proteins that accumulate in the body. brain.
However, the "striking" results of a recent experiment aimed at putting an end to the work of protein-regulating genes in children born with a rare spine problem, convinced scientists that they could adopt the same approach for those most at risk of dementia.
In an interview with The Daily Telegraph, James Pickett, research director at the Alzheimer Society, said that our right to the spine would prevent the spread and development of specific forms of disease that may be available in less than 10 years.
The treatment, which uses "molecular scissors", will not change a person's basic genetic code, but rather how specific genes known to play a role in dementia communicate.
The year 2019 will be a "turning point" in the treatment
Such a drug would mainly benefit some 18,000 Britons among those most at risk of developing Alzheimer's disease, accounting for nearly 2% of the total number of Britons suffering from degenerative diseases. Brain.
These include people with early-onset Alzheimer's Disease, which can affect individuals in their early 30s. There is currently no treatment for any form of the disease.
"2019 will mark a turning point in Alzheimer's disease through the genes responsible for dementia," Beckett said.
"Many puzzle pieces are being completed, we have as much genetic knowledge as cancer researchers 30 years ago, and we are now investing in understanding and exploiting it."
Scientists now know 25 species of genes that significantly increase the risk of contracting Alzheimer's disease, compared to a single discovery in 2012.
By manipulating the genes responsible for the disease
Researchers increasingly believe that the expression of these genes can be manipulated by CRISPR, a gene modification technique that exploits a process used by the immune system to cut DNA from invasive bacteria or so-called predatory bacteria.
The technology was widely popularized last month in November, after Chinese scientist He Jian Kui claimed to have used it to produce the world's first genetically modified children.
Such a development would be illegal in the United Kingdom and condemned by the scientific community.
In contrast, the proposed treatment for Alzheimer's disease will take the form of a "messenger therapy", targeting how genes regulate the activity of harmful proteins, such as tau proteins and apo, in the brain.
Children with spinal muscular dystrophy, who have received this type of treatment, are still able to walk and do not depend on fans, years after waiting for their suffering.
Tests showed "promising results"
Similarly, the experience of gene therapy at University College London, which aims to reduce the levels of harmful proteins in patients with Huntington's disease, has also yielded promising results. "What we learn from one disease can be applied to another disease," Beckett said.
"There will be a hint of confidence.There is a worldwide network of people with inherited Alzheimer's genes, and these unfortunate people are very eager to participate in these experiences."
He added that the priority should be to attract Cresper scientists, who are currently striving to apply them in other areas, such as fertility, so that they focus on dementia to improve their accuracy.
For non-hereditary or "unique" Alzheimer's disease, the type of disease that most people develop and develop after the age of 65, preventive treatments are still "far away," Beckett said.
However, he pointed out that an ongoing experiment targeting tau protein, which ends in January 2020, could form a basis for other treatments that can be widely used.
The new optimism stems from a series of failures in Alzheimer research in recent years that have yielded disappointing results.
In January, pharmaceutical industry leader Pfizer announced that it would withdraw from research and development on Alzheimer's disease.
In the UK, about 850,000 people suffer from some form of dementia.
Approximately 1 in 14 people over the age of 65 will fall ill, as will 1 in 6 people over the age of 80.
Alzheimer's disease not only affects the elderly
Last year, Daniel Bradbury, 31, was diagnosed with a rare form of Alzheimer's disease, caused by a mutation in the gene called PSEN1.
Bradbury inherited the gene from his father, Adrian, who died of the same disease at age 36.
Daniel suffers from movement and his short-term memory because of his state of health. He is currently unable to work as a gardener. As well as changes in his behavior and mood.
"My husband's vision is broken, my heart breaks," said Gordon, Daniel's wife, photographer. For Daniel, it's stressful mentally. His brain is dying and he is drained of it. It's also kind of a psychological torture for those around it because they see the collapse of the person that they love. "
There is a 50% chance that twins Daniel and Gordon, Lula and Jasper inherited Jane's PSEN1.
Especially that Alzheimer's disease can be genetically modified
Gordon believes that if nothing new is developing in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease, the story simply repeats itself and suffers from his child.
"I will take care of my two children with Alzheimer's disease in their early thirties.I have lost all my family before my retirement.It's a very scary feeling for me, c & # 39; is a very scary fact, I would like my child to have access to treatment if he needs it. "
Many patients with Alzheimer's disease and their loved ones hope that a cure for Alzheimer's disease will eventually be eliminated, not just to cure it.
"The treatments are good, but for me, as a person who sees her partner suffering from this disease and caring for it every day, nothing less than a (definitive) treatment will be enough," said Gordon.
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