Scientists reveal a cure for Alzheimer’s disease may be closer than we thought.
University of Pennsylvania researchers have made some exciting strides in the fight against Alzheimer’s and they hope the discoveries will lead to a delay in the onset of the disease.
Alzheimer’s disease is a heartbreaking condition for both patients and their family members. Almost half the people who live to be 85 years old will develop Alzheimer’s disease.
Dr. Lee and Dr. John Trojanowski have lead the way as part of a consortium of experts and after years of analysis, trial and error, they have had a breakthrough.
They believe they have discovered a means of delaying the onset of the disease.
This debilitating mental disorder that affects almost half of those over 85 years old worldwide may be coming to an incredible turning point, according to scientists at the University of Pennsylvania. What they found is that a specific type of protein (called the Tau protein) is a major influence on the spread of the disease. When the Tau protein becomes misshapen, it allows for harmful information to travel from cell to cell. The circulation of the destructive components causes the degeneration of the brain.
Thanks to this breakthrough, the scientists plan to test some of their theories on mice, based on this new information.
If they succeed with their theories on mice, it may one day lead to a human application. That’s exciting to this team because even if they just block the cell to cell spread for five years that would effectively be a cure for Alzheimer’s.
For more information please visit: www.med.upenn.edu
