PDA

View Full Version : Researchers find genetic cause for Alzheimer's, possible method to reverse it



Aragorn
15th April 2018, 12:14
https://cdnph.upi.com/svc/sv/upi_com/4661523454194/2018/1/35a45afa6c792c6afef81afae97cb76d/Researchers-find-genetic-cause-for-Alzheimers-possible-method-to-reverse-it.jpg


Source: UPI (https://www.upi.com/Health_News/2018/04/11/Researchers-find-genetic-cause-for-Alzheimers-possible-method-to-reverse-it/4661523454194/?utm_source=sec&utm_campaign=sl&utm_medium=2)



April 11 (UPI) -- Scientists at an independent biomedical research institution have reported a monumental breakthrough: The cause of the primary genetic risk factor for Alzheimer's disease, and a possible cure for the disease.

Researchers at Gladstone Institutes in San Francisco identified the primary genetic risk factor for the disease, a gene called apoE4. They were able to create a harmless apoE3-like version by inserting a class of compounds into it.

Their findings were published this week (https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-018-0004-z) in the journal Nature Medicine.

An estimated 5.4 million Americans are currently living with Alzheimer's disease, the leading cause of dementia and the fifth leading cause of death, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (https://www.cdc.gov/chronicdisease/resources/publications/aag/alzheimers.htm). Currently there is no cure or prevention for the irreversible, progressive brain condition, which usually develops in people after age 60.

Lead author Dr. Yadong Huang, a senior investigator and director of the Center for Translational Advancement at Gladstone, told UPI he is working with an undisclosed startup pharmaceutical company in the San Francisco Bay area to "further develop the apoE4 structure corrector approach and move toward clinic trials."

"My lab and my collaborators are working hard to move our discovery toward clinical trials as quickly as we can," he told UPI.

Huang said apoE4 can be targeted directly for Alzheimer's disease drug development, but that there is no defined timetable for clinical trials.

"It is difficult to estimate when a drug could be on the market given the complexity of drug development," Huang said. "We are likely several years away from a drug being on the market, but with concerted effort, we are working to accelerate the timeline as much as possible.

Huang said he has been working with Dr. Robert W. Mahley at the Gladstone Institutes for over 20 years on apoE and Alzheimer's disease, especially on developing apoE4 structure correctors.

"Drug development for Alzheimer's disease has been largely a disappointment over the past 10 years," Huang said in a press release (https://gladstone.org/about-us/news/scientists-fix-genetic-risk-factor-alzheimers). "Many drugs work beautifully in a mouse model, but so far they've all failed in clinical trials. One concern within the field has been how poorly these mouse models really mimic human disease."

Huang used human cells to model the disease and test new drugs.

But he told UPI that "animal models continue to be very important to test possible drug toxicity and to test the efficacy of a new drug in vivo."

For the first time, they examined the effect of apoE4 on the human brain by creating neurons from skin cells donated by Alzheimer's patients with two copies of the apoE4 gene, as well as from healthy individuals who also have two copies of the apoE3 gene.

Researchers said one copy of the apoE4 gene more than doubles a person's likelihood of developing Alzheimer's disease, and two copies increases the risk by 12-fold.

In human neurons, the apoE4 protein not functioning properly is broken down into disease-causing fragments in the cells. The process leads to issues often observed with Alzheimer's disease, including the accumulation of the protein tau and of amyloid peptides.

Although apoE4 does not change the production of amyloid beta in mouse neurons, it increases amyloid beta production in humans.

"There's an important species difference in the effect of apoE4 on amyloid beta," said Dr. Chengzhong Wang, a former research scientist at Gladstone. "Increased amyloid beta production is not seen in mouse neurons and could potentially explain some of the discrepancies between mice and humans regarding drug efficacy. This will be very important information for future drug development."

Researchers examined brain cells that did not produce either form of the apoE protein. But if they added apoE4, the cells had pathologies related to Alzheimer's disease. So, apoE4, and not the absence of apoE3, develops the disease.

By treating human apoE4 neurons with a structure corrector, it eliminated the signs of Alzheimer's disease, restored normal function to the cells and improved cell survival.


Source: UPI (https://www.upi.com/Health_News/2018/04/11/Researchers-find-genetic-cause-for-Alzheimers-possible-method-to-reverse-it/4661523454194/?utm_source=sec&utm_campaign=sl&utm_medium=2)

enjoy being
15th April 2018, 12:25
Hmm. That'll be it, a gene just decided to do it. Naughty gene, luckily our expert, highly evolved scientists will be able to get to the bootom of it and totally irradicate the naughty gene with the use of perfectly safe and benevolent ..drugs.

Aragorn
15th April 2018, 12:57
Hmm. That'll be it, a gene just decided to do it. Naughty gene, luckily our expert, highly evolved scientists will be able to get to the bootom of it and totally irradicate the naughty gene with the use of perfectly safe and benevolent ..drugs.

It's not about eradicating the gene, but of treating a horribly humiliating and in the longer run also deadly condition. I have seen from up close what Alzheimer's does to people, both professionally and within my own family.

enjoy being
15th April 2018, 13:04
It's not about eradicating the gene, but of treating a horribly humiliating and in the longer run also deadly condition. I have seen from up close what Alzheimer's does to people, both professionally and within my own family.

...so have I

Unfortunately I also dont have much faith in medical research so.... as I thought was obvious, the comment was tongue in cheek illustrating that opinion on medical attitudes.

Emil El Zapato
15th April 2018, 14:00
Hmm. That'll be it, a gene just decided to do it. Naughty gene, luckily our expert, highly evolved scientists will be able to get to the bootom of it and totally irradicate the naughty gene with the use of perfectly safe and benevolent ..drugs.

We are just carrier bags for our genes. Gene's have only one intent and that is to spread themselves in the most effective way possible. It gives rise to many a 'vicious' battle within and without the carriers. But as nothing in nature is perfect we have we have. We live in a cosmic shooting gallery. There might be hope, nonetheless.

enjoy being
15th April 2018, 14:09
Hmm, oh well. Go for it guys just post whatever you'd like to imagine my post was about. Lol

Emil El Zapato
15th April 2018, 14:11
Hmm, oh well. Go for it guys just post whatever you'd like to imagine my post was about. Lol

It's not about your post, Mr. Nothing. Mine was just a general reflection on those nasty genes.

enjoy being
15th April 2018, 14:18
...the comment was about people thinking they know all about the human machine and appoint themselves as able to make the decision to meddle with things like human genes.
"We'll fix that, to make people live longer" hows that population count going?

Then you have those so called tales of so called timetravellers coming back to try and fix genetic mistakes that were made...

But no, everyone wants to just extrapolate on the virtues of medicine lol

Aragorn
15th April 2018, 14:22
We are just carrier bags for our genes. Gene's have only one intent and that is to spread themselves in the most effective way possible.

Personally, I do not agree with that. There are scientists who believe — and I agree with them — that genes are merely a physical mechanism through which life creates the encounter suits (i.e. our bodies) for our presence (and that of other species) in this "physical" environment.

Experiments have shown that dormant genes can be switched on and off, suggesting that it's not the genes which are in control of the physical body, but rather the brain. Of course, the brain is formed in the womb by way of the information encoded in the genes, but that's another subject altogether.

Besides, from your posts, I deduct that you are a Christian — if not a Catholic — and therefore your statement, at least as quoted above, would be incongruent with the Christian belief in an immortal soul, and much more in line with the mainstream and materialist scientific belief that life does not require either consciousness or a soul, and that all consciousness would merely be a side-effect of neural activity.

In short, I do not accept that our genes would be what's in control. I see our genes merely as a toolbox for the physical body. Some tools have been powered up, some have no batteries in them, and some of them are either broken or should for good measure never be used together with other tools. :hmm:

Emil El Zapato
15th April 2018, 15:06
Personally, I do not agree with that. There are scientists who believe — and I agree with them — that genes are merely a physical mechanism through which life creates the encounter suits (i.e. our bodies) for our presence (and that of other species) in this "physical" environment.

Experiments have shown that dormant genes can be switched on and off, suggesting that it's not the genes which are in control of the physical body, but rather the brain. Of course, the brain is formed in the womb by way of the information encoded in the genes, but that's another subject altogether.

Besides, from your posts, I deduct that you are a Christian — if not a Catholic — and therefore your statement, at least as quoted above, would be incongruent with the Christian belief in an immortal soul, and much more in line with the mainstream and materialist scientific belief that life does not require either consciousness or a soul, and that all consciousness would merely be a side-effect of neural activity.

In short, I do not accept that our genes would be what's in control. I see our genes merely as a toolbox for the physical body. Some tools have been powered up, some have no batteries in them, and some of them are either broken or should for good measure never be used together with other tools. :hmm:

I don't really agree either... :) It's just one side of the argument that I'm currently exploring...My posts could change tomorrow depending on what is going on "in the church of what's happenin' now"

Emil El Zapato
15th April 2018, 15:41
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cgwvSTzWF6w

GraceKB
15th April 2018, 15:50
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cgwvSTzWF6w

Can I get an amen for Flip's floods!

Kathy
15th April 2018, 18:18
In the 1980s, a trial was performed on Alzheimer sufferers in USA, whereby an amount of Gingko Biloba was given to about 500 sufferers. Within a few weeks a large proportion of the sufferers were able to remember things they previously could not, eg they had left the iron on, they had left the oven on, or other such things.

So I purchased some and started using it in the workplace, even though I was not a sufferer, and found that my memory dramatically improved. Eventually, in the 1990s, I worked for specialist neurologists and was surprised that gingko biloba was not used in the medication of Ajzheimer sufferers.

Dumpster Diver
25th April 2018, 15:52
In the 1980s, a trial was performed on Alzheimer sufferers in USA, whereby an amount of Gingko Biloba was given to about 500 sufferers. Within a few weeks a large proportion of the sufferers were able to remember things they previously could not, eg they had left the iron on, they had left the oven on, or other such things.

So I purchased some and started using it in the workplace, even though I was not a sufferer, and found that my memory dramatically improved. Eventually, in the 1990s, I worked for specialist neurologists and was surprised that gingko biloba was not used in the medication of Ajzheimer sufferers.

...I’d go out and buy some Gingko biloba but I’m already remembering way too much now...forgetfulness is a gift, believe me...

Dreamtimer
26th April 2018, 13:19
My understanding about Ginkgo is that it is good for the circulation and that, in turn, helps with brain function.

I thought your comment, Nothing, was pointing to the obvious path of, let's make another drug. It's the magic pill mentality. People didn't want to exercise and change their diet so they went on drugs, or got surgery. People don't want to do the long haul of therapy so they go on psychoactive drugs. The docs all have had to specialize so they all just prescribe pills.

I'm embellishing and simplifying a bit. I have mixed feelings about mainstream medicine. There are times when it's the only option, and there are times when other options should be pursued.

The thing about medical and scientific research that's consistently true is that many of the best discoveries are by accident. So it's a science and also a bit of an art. There are also all kinds of off-label uses of drugs.

The thing that bothers me most is that we're more becoming guinea pigs. As people push for less and less regulation the companies can just put stuff out into the market and test it on the people. As long as the legislators continue to protect large businesses over regular humans we will continue down this road.

My brother already says, "Most people are just pennies. You could throw them away and you'd never miss them. They don't matter. They don't make a difference."

He thinks he's being original, no doubt, but that's just a paraphrase of the industrialist who referred to workers as "bolts on the warehouse floor. It's not worth sweeping them up and re-using them. It's too expensive. Just sweep them away. You won't miss them."

This is the current attitude, imo.

enjoy being
26th April 2018, 13:57
My understanding about Ginkgo is that it is good for the circulation and that, in turn, helps with brain function.

I thought your comment, Nothing, was pointing to the obvious path of, let's make another drug. It's the magic pill mentality. People didn't want to exercise and change their diet so they went on drugs, or got surgery. People don't want to do the long haul of therapy so they go on psychoactive drugs. The docs all have had to specialize so they all just prescribe pills.

I'm embellishing and simplifying a bit. I have mixed feelings about mainstream medicine. There are times when it's the only option, and there are times when other options should be pursued.

The thing about medical and scientific research that's consistently true is that many of the best discoveries are by accident. So it's a science and also a bit of an art. There are also all kinds of off-label uses of drugs.

The thing that bothers me most is that we're more becoming guinea pigs. As people push for less and less regulation the companies can just put stuff out into the market and test it on the people. As long as the legislators continue to protect large businesses over regular humans we will continue down this road.

My brother already says, "Most people are just pennies. You could throw them away and you'd never miss them. They don't matter. They don't make a difference."

He thinks he's being original, no doubt, but that's just a paraphrase of the industrialist who referred to workers as "bolts on the warehouse floor. It's not worth sweeping them up and re-using them. It's too expensive. Just sweep them away. You won't miss them."

This is the current attitude, imo.

Suffering is hard to watch and hard to endure. Other than that, there is a lot of things being fixed because people are just scared of death, to the point they will play Russian Roulette with humanities future. Humans can seem to be so short sighted and believe they know best. The road to hell paved with good intentions mantra again.