New Alzheimer’s treatment fully restores memory function in mice

donegaLroad

Australian researchers have come up with a non-invasive ultrasound technology that clears the brain of neurotoxic amyloid plaques - structures that are responsible for memory loss and a decline in cognitive function in Alzheimer’s patients.

If a person has Alzheimer’s disease, it’s usually the result of a build-up of two types of lesions - amyloid plaques, and neurofibrillary tangles. Amyloid plaques sit between the neurons and end up as dense clusters of beta-amyloid molecules, a sticky type of protein that clumps together and forms plaques.

The team says they’re planning on starting trials with higher animal models, such as sheep, and hope to get their human trials underway in 2017.

Link here


Hopefully the treatment will be available sooner than later, and that Alzheimer's will be a thing of the past.

Frynge

Unforgettable day for Alzheimer's association.

Sapphire

Altzheimers is an absolute cnut of a disease so this is terrific news.

ygolometsipe

The title of the tread is a bit misleading because it works on mice.

Humans a little more complex, still good news tho.

corner of hells

How are nice diagnosed with Alzheimer's?

uch

corner of hells wrote: »

How are nice diagnosed with Alzheimer's?

Nicely

JohnBee

I hate popular journalistic reporting of science. If it was anyway based on reality then from my memory of the great BBC show Tomorrow's World (damn I miss that show), then we should be living on mars and each have a flying car at this stage.

The treatment doesn't fully reverse memory loss. Additionally if you actually check the graphs, the memory benefit starts to reduce towards the end of the study, suggesting if they continued their observations for longer that it would perhaps be even less and less.

This is an excellent study and gives hope for the future but we should remember that less than 5% of successful animal studies actually work in humans.

Canis Lupus

Animal studies don't translate to human cures.

Uriel.

I really have to hand it to mice, they find the cure and/or treatment to anything. We need mice to be the Minister for Health.


yaay. go mice!!

Wibbs

It's some hope and a great to hear, but I'd be cautious. For a start the plaque theory may have some grey areas to it. There have been a few reports that have found quite the number of the autopsied brains of elderly people full of said plaques but they themselves when alive were never diagnosed nor reported to have alzheimers. In their cases it seems the brain routed around the problem areas and left most of their functionality intact, while in others exhibiting lesser plaque formation were very badly affected. One factor seems to be levels of sociability and social usefulness in life and particularly in old age. Another factor seems to be insulin resistance(which is a real worry for the years ahead given the exploding diabetes figures). I suspect that this disease, like cancer will come to be seen as a suite of diseases with different types, causes and treatments. Dementia itself already is a suite of conditions. EG Vascular dementia is a different animal to alzheimers.

WoollyRedHat

New cure restores vision to three blind mice....
Has to be seen to be believed.

Alf Stewart.

Me dear old nana had Alzheimer's disease, she was a fiercely proud a s independent person up until its onslaught, and was the complete epitome of a lady.

Watching her final years, almost completely dependent on others for the basics, not to mention the look of bewilderment in her eyes when she failed to recognise some of us would have brought a tear to a glass eye.

Be a great day for humanity if they get a cure for one real bastard of a disease in my eyes!

That's actually a good question.. how did they infect mice with Alzheimer's disease?

SEPT 23 1989

are we allowed test on chimps anymore?

gctest50

Deleted User wrote: »

That's actually a good question.. how did they infect mice with Alzheimer's disease?

You can buy them from WonkyMice'Я'Us :

https://www.jax.org/mouse-search?linkBuilder=1&stocktype=&diseaseterm=&straingroup=&researcharea=Neurobiology%20Research&researcharea2=Alzheimer%27s%20Disease&researcharea3=&strainstatus=&genesymbol=&allelesymbol=&geneticbackground=

gctest50

gctest50 wrote: »

You can buy them from WonkyMice'Я'Us :

https://www.jax.org/mouse-search?linkBuilder=1&stocktype=&diseaseterm=&straingroup=&researcharea=Neurobiology%20Research&researcharea2=Alzheimer%27s%20Disease&researcharea3=&strainstatus=&genesymbol=&allelesymbol=&geneticbackground=

I'm so so disappointed

sullivlo

[Deleted User] wrote: »

That's actually a good question.. how did they infect mice with Alzheimer's disease?

There are mice with genetic mutations that breed and develop Alzheimer's. It's pretty interesting how they work.

maudgonner

Uriel. wrote: »

I really have to hand it to mice, they find the cure and/or treatment to anything. We need mice to be the Minister for Health.


yaay. go mice!!

Woah, it seems The Brain's latest plan to take over the world begins with becoming Irish Minister for Health...then Taoiseach...then on to the EU Presidency...

I'm on to you Brain!

RGDATA!

Canis Lupus wrote: »

Animal studies don't translate to human cures.

"don't necessarily" or never do?