'Historic breakthrough' in Alzheimer's research

Conclusion This study showed an exciting new development in the quest for treating prion diseases, also known as transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs), such as Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease (CJD) in humans or bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in animals. This was a small study of 29 mice and had to be discontinued after 12 weeks. Despite encouraging results, including that after this time period the prion disease had not progressed and the drug had stopped brain cell death, we do not know how long the drug might work. The researchers also point out that in these early stages they have not worked out how to stop the drug from having adverse effects on other parts of the body, such as severe weight loss and on organs such as the pancreas, which could trigger the onset of diabetes in humans. The drug did not prevent the build-up of abnormal proteins in the brain. Although the mice receiving the drug did not appear to suffer from the symptoms of prion disease, it is not known what effect these abnormal proteins may have on the brain in humans long term. The researchers conclude that this may also be effective in other neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, but this theory has not been tested. It is likely that this research will lead to further animal studies. There is also the possibility that the drug could be tested in "biological surrogates" for human tissue, such as nerve cells generated from stem cells. But even if the ...
Source: NHS News Feed - Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Medical practice Medication Neurology Source Type: news