Alzheimer's disease vaccine
April 17, 2008
Alzheimer's is a devastating disease. There are drugs to treat the
symptoms, but none to target the cause. Now, researchers believe they
may be one step closer to stopping the disease in its tracks and
saving millions of lives.
Like many families, Jim and Louise Arnold know Alzheimer's disease
all too well. With his wife close to his side, Jim has been fighting
the debilitating disease for nearly five years.
"It's been difficult at times. Sometimes it isn't easy to remember
why he's having trouble understanding,
Now, researchers at NYU Medical Center are working on a vaccine that
may help Alzheimer's patients like Jim. The vaccine works by removing
clumps of protein in the brain that kill the neurons responsible for
memory.
Einar Sigurdsson, Ph.D said, "The more you have of these Tau
aggregates in the brain, the more severe your dementia is."
The vaccine stimulates the immune system to produce antibodies that
attack the protein.
Sigurdsson adds, "These antibodies would get into the brain and they
would clear the Tau aggregates and your memory would improve."
Meanwhile scientists at the University of Central Florida are
focusing on stem cell therapy to re-grow dying neurons in Alzheimer's
patients.
Kiminobu Sugaya, Ph.D said, "If you lost the neurons, the brain
doesn't work, doesn't form the new memory, and also start losing even
old memory."
By lowering a chemical linked to Alzheimer's, the scientists create
an ideal condition for stem cells to change into neurons.
"If we transplant the stem cell, we should be able to recreate part
of the brain," added Sugaya. And help patients like Jim continue
making memories.
Scientists are also studying the impact omega-3 fatty acid has on the
progression of Alzheimer's disease. Clinical trials are currently
taking place across the United States.
http://www.whec.
«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
StemCells subscribers may also be interested in these sites:
Children's Neurobiological Solutions
http://www.CNSfoundation.org/
Cord Blood Registry
http://www.CordBlood.com/at.cgi?a=150123
The CNS Healing Group
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CNS_Healing
____________________________________________
«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Change settings via the Web (Yahoo! ID required)
Change settings via email: Switch delivery to Daily Digest | Switch format to Traditional
Visit Your Group | Yahoo! Groups Terms of Use | Unsubscribe
__,_._,___
