Solving the Puzzle of Alzheimer's Disease
I read the
article Solving the Puzzle of Alzheimer’s
Disease. This article interested me because my grandpa had Alzheimer’s and finding
anything close to how Alzheimer’s works is being one step closer to finding a
cure. This article talked about recent research on a compound called AC253 that
could possibly inhibit the protein amyloid. Amyloid has been found in large
amounts in Alzheimer’s patients brains and is thought to be a major part of the
development of this disease. Researchers at the University of Alberta found
that AC253 can help protect nerve cells from the destruction of amyloid.
Experiments were done on mice to prove this. Mice who had a lot of amyloid in
their brain got injected with AC253 and were found to have improved in their
memory and learning. Knowing that Alzheimer’s highly impacts your memory, this
experiment is good news.
I thought
this article was an interesting read. Before reading this, I didn’t know what
the main protein was that caused Alzheimer’s. It’s nice to know that
researchers are currently working and getting closer to figuring how Alzheimer’s
work. Although finding the cure might still be far away, at least they know at
least one if not more compounds that helps slow down amyloid and improves
memory.
Link: http://neurosciencenews.com/ac253-alzheimers-6122/
Research like this is so important, because there is so little known about Alzheimer's, yet it drastically impacts the lives of so many people. According to the Alzheimer's Association, there were over 500 million people living with the disease in America alone last year. While mice research plays a huge role in helping humans, it is clear that research on humans needs to be conducted as well. However, with the number of ethical barriers related to human experiments, this is always tricky, especially when dealing with a topic so sensitive to people everywhere. Hopefully more research can be done to back up the positivity behind these results so that people are more inclined to volunteer once human research begins. This study has huge implications in the fields of both medicine and psychology.
ReplyDeleteWhile reading, I questioned whether injecting the AC253 has the ability to reverse some of the symptoms or just stop them where they currently are. According to this study, the mice showed improvements in memory and learning, which implies to me that their symptoms were reversed; however, it appears that the AC253 is only intended to block the destruction of amyloid, which could also imply that it would simply stop amyloid from doing any further destruction, but not reverse its previous effects. Either way, this is a huge finding for those suffering from Alzheimer's.
It is strange to think that a common disease, such as Alzheimer's does not have a cure yet. The research done on mice seems to be a huge improvement in the right direction of finding a cure. I am curious if that the mice who had majority of the protein amyloid had problems with memory from the start. I understand that once treated they improved their memory and learning, but how was their memory tested beforehand. I was curious to what the protein amyloid did, and it apparently causes build up on organs and tissues. This could suggest that this build up on the brain areas cause a disruption of information getting transferred. Although amyloid protein is correlated with Alzheimer's, it is not a definite answer to what causes Alzheimer's overall.I would say that this experiment is a step in the right direction, but it should not be tested on humans yet do to unknown symptoms that may occur afterwards.
ReplyDeleteI also find it strange that we have not found a cure for this disease. So many older people are affected by Alzheimers, and for manny of their families it is extremely hard to watch their family member live with this type of disease, knowing that it will only continue to get worse. When I was in high school i actually worked in a nursing home where a majority of the people in the facility were suffering from some degree of Alzheimer's, so when the author mentioned that nursing home facilities can not be built fast enough to house the aging population, I was reminded of what I had witnessed in the nursing home facility that I had previously worked at. Even though more information and research needs to be gathered about this new discovered compound called AC253, that could inhibit the protein amyloid, I think that this new finding could lead to learning more information about how to cure Alzheimer's. In the last sentence of the article it says that research and medical professionals do not believe that this compound could cure Alzheimer's in itself, but that this compound could be combined with other effective treatments that could help patients. When I was reading the article, I also questioned if this compound could be given as a preventive measure for people who know that the disease genetically runs in their family, and they want to make sure that they don't develop the disorder. In addition, I'm wondering if maybe this compound could also be used in the treatment of dementia patients, or aid in the treatment of other diseases where doctors find large amounts of amyloid in the brain.
ReplyDeleteBoth my grandparents had early symptoms of Dementia and Alzheimer's, and it was really hard to see them like that at times. This article interested me because, like you, I think researchers are taking a step in the right direction for the advancement of knowledge on the topic of Alzheimer's. I believe that understanding the disease and its effects would be the first step in finding a way to slow its onset, or cure it completely. Personally, I still think that finding a full cure for the disease is still pretty far down the road, as there are many factors which go into the onset of the disease. But now that scientists are working to better understand the disease, it makes finding a cure more of a reality. When would human experiments/testing be put into place? My question for this study would be how far along the research is, and at what point would we be able to integrate testing on patients with the disease? I think that once enough research is implemented and support gained, human testing can begin, and bring us even closer to finding a cure for the disease.
ReplyDeleteThe article stated that the treatment began at three months of age before the disease developed. I wonder if this will be effective for people that have already developed the disease. If so, will it stop the build up or halt it and make learning and memory temporarily better? If learning and memory does improve will they have to continuously take this drug to keep up the process? Making combining treatments with this research could help people that are suffering from Alzheimer's. It's a very unfortunate disease and it's even worse because we still haven't found out what causes it. I do know that Canadians did some research on using the MIND diet and it lowered the risk of developing Alzheimer's by 53%/. The unfortunate thing about this is that even some people that are considered "healthy" and still get it. The diagnoses aren't so cut and dry like they should be which causes confusion in the research of Alzheimer's.
ReplyDelete