Editor's Blog
A drug similar to one used in clinical trials for treatment of rheumatoid arthritis and psoriasis has been found to rescue memory in mice exhibiting Alzheimer’s symptoms.
Irvine, Calif., July 14, 2009 – A drug similar to one used in clinical trials for treatment of rheumatoid arthritis and psoriasis has been found to rescue memory in mice exhibiting Alzheimer’s symptoms.
The discovery by UC Irvine scientists offers hope that a new treatment may be on the horizon for people in the early stages of Alzheimer’s, the leading cause of elderly dementia afflicting more than 5 million people in the U.S. and for which no cure exists.
The drug, called PMX205, prevented inflamed immune cells from gathering in brain regions with Alzheimer’s lesions called amyloid plaques. Cell inflammation in these areas accelerates neuron damage, exacerbating the disease.
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A number of anti-inflammatory substances have also shown some potential for helping prevent neuro-cognitive diseases like alzheimer’s.
Vitamin D deficiency may also be correlated to alzheimer’s development:
Vitamin D deficiency occurs in 55% of patients with Parkinson’s Disease (PD) and 41% in patients with Alzheimer’s Disease (AD). [86] Vitamin D receptors and 1α-hydroxylase (1α-OHase), the enzyme responsible for converting Vitamin D into it’s active form, are heavily expressed in the substantia nigra, the region of brain where dopaminergic neurons are located. [87]Moreover, Alzheimer’s Disease has been linked to genetic mutations in the Vitamin D receptor, and patients with the mutation were 2.3 times more likely to develop Alzheimer’s Disease. [88]
Omega-3 levels may also play a role in Alzheimer’s Disease:
A 9 year epidemiological study including 899 men and women found people with the highest percentage of plasma DHA omega-3 were 47% less likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease. [118]
Hi all. The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds new discoveries, is not ‘Eureka!’ (I found it!) but ‘That’s funny …’
I am from Scotland and bad know English, give please true I wrote the following sentence: “Paxil, intense patients may be granted to stress.”
Thanks for the help
, Derrick.