Friday 8th January 2016- The Guardian: Alzheimer’s treatment closer as brain inflammation shown to be key

‘Scientists have fresh hopes for an Alzheimer’s treatment after experiments to reduce inflammation in diseased mouse brains prevented memory and behavioural problems in the animals.

Alzheimer’s disease has long been linked to disruption in the brain’s immune system, but the latest research adds to evidence that inflammation in the brain is not so much caused by the disease, but is a driver of the disorder.

Researchers at Southampton University studied tissues from healthy human brains and others affected by Alzheimer’s disease. They found that Alzheimer’s brains had more immune cells, known as microglia, than healthy brains.

The scientists next looked at microglia in mice that had been bred to develop a condition that resembles Alzheimer’s disease. In a series of experiments reported in the journal Brain, the team injected mice with a chemical that stops microglia numbers from growing too high.

In untreated mice, the disease caused brain cells steadily to lose their connections with one another. But treated mice kept their nerve cell connections and had fewer memory and behavioural problems. Crucially, the treatment maintained the normal levels of microglia needed for a healthy brain immune system. The treatment did not, however, stop the build up of characteristic amyloid plaques in the animals’ brains.

Diego Gomez-Nicola, who led the study, said the experiments were “as close to evidence as we can get” that inflammation and microglia were important for the progression of Alzheimer’s disease. The team now intends to work with the pharmaceutical industry to find a suitable drug that can be tested in humans. The chemical given to the mice acts on a receptor found on the surface of microglia called CSFR1.’

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Alzheimer’s treatment closer as brain inflammation shown to be key

Alzheimer’s: Curbing inflammation in the brain could help combat effects of disease, study finds- The Independent

Blocking brain inflammation ‘halts Alzheimer’s disease’- BBC News

Monday 21st September 2015- The Independent: Arthritis drug could soon reverse Alzheimer’s symptoms after successful tests on mice, say scientists

‘A painkiller widely used to treat rheumatoid arthritis has been shown to reverse the symptoms of dementia in the brains of laboratory mice, raising hope that there may soon be an effective treatment for Alzheimer’s disease, scientists have said.

The drug, salsalate, is a licensed pain killer but in mice with a form of dementia similar to Alzheimer’s it reversed the changes to a key protein in the brain that builds up in patients with the debilitating neurological disease, they found.

The researchers said it is the first time any drug has been shown to have an effect on the “tau” protein that accumulates in the brain of people with Alzheimer’s and a range of similar dementias known as “tauopathies”. It could lead to an effective therapy even for patients in the later stages of disease, the researchers said.

“We identified for the first time a pharmacological approach that reverses all aspects of tau toxicity,” said Li Gan, PhD of the Gladstone Institutes, a non-profit research organisation affiliated with the University of California, San Francisco.’

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Arthritis drug could soon reverse Alzheimer’s symptoms after successful tests on mice, say scientists

Monday 21st September 2015- The Guardian: One-third of people born in 2015 ‘will develop dementia’

‘One in three people born this year will develop dementia, according to new figures.

The Alzheimer’s Research UK charity warned of a “looming national health crisis” as the population ages.

It called for greater efforts across the globe to help develop new treatments.
Dementia affects 850,000 people in the UK, resulting in the loss of brain cells. The most common type is Alzheimer’s disease.

Early symptoms include problems with memory and thinking. As the disease progresses, people can experience difficulty with walking, balance and swallowing.

Alzheimer’s Research UK said age was the biggest risk factor for developing dementia.

As people live longer than ever before, the numbers with dementia will rise. The latest analysis, commissioned by the charity and carried out by the Office of Health Economics, was released to mark World Alzheimer’s Day.

It showed 27% of boys born in 2015 will develop the condition in their lifetime, alongside 37% of girls. Previous research from the same team has estimated that the development of a drug that could delay the onset of dementia by five years would cut the number of cases by a third.

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One-third of people born in 2015 ‘will develop dementia

Thursday 10th September 2015: The Independent: Alzheimer’s disease may be infectious, study claims

‘The “seeds” of Alzheimer’s disease may be transmitted from one person to another during certain medical procedures, scientists have found.’

‘The investigation has shown for the first time in humans that Alzheimer’s disease may be a transmissible infection which could be inadvertently passed between people.’

‘Scientists emphasised that the new evidence is still preliminary and should not stop anyone from having surgery. They have also stressed that it is not possible to “catch” Alzheimer’s by living with someone with the disease.

However, the findings of a study into eight people who were given growth hormone injections when they were children have raised the disturbing possibility that Alzheimer’s can be transmitted under certain circumstances when infected tissues or surgical instruments are passed between individuals.’

‘Until now, it was thought that Alzheimer’s occurred only as a result of inheriting certain genetic mutations causing the familial version of the disease, or from random “sporadic” events within the brain of elderly people, said Professor John Collinge, head of neurodegenerative diseases at University College London.

“What we need to consider is that in addition to there being sporadic Alzheimer’s disease and inherited or familial Alzheimer’s disease, there could also be acquired forms of Alzheimer’s disease,” Professor Collinge said.

“You could have three different ways you have these protein seeds generated in your brain. Either they happen spontaneously, an unlucky event as you age, or you have a faulty gene, or you’ve been exposed to a medical accident. That’s what we’re hypothesising,” he said.’

See:

Alzheimer’s disease may be infectious, study claims

Thursday 30th October 2014- The Daily Mail: Saliva test for cancer hailed as holy grail for early detection of deadly disease: Analysis could also be used to spot diabetes and dementia

‘A simple saliva test was yesterday hailed as the holy grail in the early detection of deadly diseases such as cancer.

It could also apply to dementia, Alzheimer’s, type 2 diabetes and auto-immune diseases, the researchers said.

The study, the most comprehensive analysis ever conducted of a particular type of molecules in human saliva, reveals that saliva contains many of the same disease-revealing molecules that are in blood’.

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Saliva test for cancer hailed as holy grail for early detection of deadly disease: Analysis could also be used to spot diabetes and dementia

Wednesday 10th September 2014- The Independent: Alzheimer’s now costs the UK £26bn every year, major new research suggests

‘Two million Britons will suffer from Alzheimer’s by 2050, according to the most comprehensive review of the disease to date – which also reveals the costs of the condition to the UK have soared to £26bn a year’.

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• Alzheimer’s now costs the UK £26bn every year, major new research suggests

Thursday 10th October 2013- The Independent: Alzheimer’s treatment breakthrough: British scientists pave way for simple pill to cure disease

After stopping brain-cell death in mice, scientists believe they may have discovered a possible chemical treatment for Alzheimer’s disease, of which 1 case occurs every 3.2 minutes in England and Wales, the discovery being judged as ‘a turning point’ in history by Professor Roger Morris of Kings College London, Head of the Chemistry Department.

See:

• Alzheimer’s treatment breakthrough: British scientists pave way for simple pill to cure disease