BBC news reports on a new Alzheimer's study.
Research shows that there is possibly a new preventative hopeful drug plan. There are new statins that could protect against Alzheimer’s.
A study conducted by researchers at the University of Cambridge recently identified drugs, which prevented the first step towards brain cell death.
These researchers now want to match up drugs with particular stages of Alzheimer’s disease. The experts said it is necessary to find out whether these drugs could work effectively in humans. “Statins are taken by people to reduce the risk of developing heart disease and the Cambridge research team says their work may have unearthed a potential ‘neurostatin’ to ward off Alzheimer's disease,” according to The Times.
How do these neurostatins work?
Experts say that rather than treating the symptoms of the disease like typical drugs do, a neurostatin could be utilized as a preventative measure to halt the condition from appearing in the first place.
How are these different from cancer drugs?
BBC compared neurostatins to cancer drugs like bexarotene, for example, which was found to halt the first step, and then leads to the termination of brain cells in worms genetically programmed to start Alzheimer's disease.
Dr. Rosa Sancho, leads the research at Alzheimer's Research UK, and commented on how scientists must find out exactly how the drug works before any clinical trials. She said, “We will now need to see whether this new preventative approach could halt the earliest biological events in Alzheimer's and keep damage at bay in further animal and human studies. This early research in worms suggests that bexarotene could act earlier in the process to interfere with amyloid build-up.”
The study’s senior author, Professor Michele Vendruscolo, from the University of Cambridge, also commented on his findings. He wrote in Science Advances saying that the research team wanted to find out more about the mechanics of every stage of the disease's development.
“The body has a variety of natural defenses to protect itself against neurodegeneration, but as we age, these defences become progressively impaired and can get overwhelmed.
"By understanding how these natural defenses work, we might be able to support them by designing drugs that behave in similar ways,” according to Vendruscolo.
Dr. Doug Brown, director of research and development at the Alzheimer's Society, also commented on the findings. He said that although the treatment was in its early days it looks promising.