Researchers find a hint at how to delay Alzheimer's symptoms. Now they have to prove it
An experimental treatment appears to delay Alzheimer바카라 게임 웹사이트s symptoms in some people genetically destined to get the disease in their 40s or 50s, according to new findings from ongoing research now caught up in Trump administration funding delays.
The early results 바카라 게임 웹사이트 a scientific first 바카라 게임 웹사이트 were published Wednesday even as study participants worried that politics could cut their access to a possible lifeline.
바카라 게임 웹사이트It바카라 게임 웹사이트s still a study but it has given me an extension to my life that I never banked on having,바카라 게임 웹사이트 said Jake Heinrichs of New York City.
Now 50, Heinrichs has been treated in that study for more than a decade and remains symptom-free despite inheriting an Alzheimer바카라 게임 웹사이트s-causing gene that killed his father and brother around the same age.
If blocked funding stops Heinrichs바카라 게임 웹사이트 doses, 바카라 게임 웹사이트how much time do we have?바카라 게임 웹사이트 asked his wife, Rachel Chavkin. 바카라 게임 웹사이트This trial is life.바카라 게임 웹사이트
Two drugs sold in the U.S. can modestly slow worsening of early-stage Alzheimer바카라 게임 웹사이트s by clearing the brain of one of its hallmarks, a sticky gunk called amyloid. But until now, there haven't been hints that removing amyloid far earlier 바카라 게임 웹사이트 many years before the first symptoms appear 바카라 게임 웹사이트 just might postpone the disease.
The research led by Washington University in St. Louis involves families that pass down rare gene mutations almost guaranteeing they바카라 게임 웹사이트ll develop symptoms at the same age their affected relatives did 바카라 게임 웹사이트 information that helps scientists tell if treatments are having any effect.
The new findings center on a subset of 22 participants who received amyloid-removing drugs the longest, on average eight years. Long-term amyloid removal cut in half their risk of symptom onset, researchers reported Wednesday in the journal Lancet Neurology.
Despite the study바카라 게임 웹사이트s small size, 바카라 게임 웹사이트it바카라 게임 웹사이트s incredibly important,바카라 게임 웹사이트 said Northwestern University neuroscientist David Gate, who wasn바카라 게임 웹사이트t involved with the research.
Now participants have been switched from an earlier experimental drug to Leqembi, an IV treatment approved in the U.S., to try to answer the obvious next question.
바카라 게임 웹사이트What we want to determine over the next five years is how strong is the protection,바카라 게임 웹사이트 said Washington University바카라 게임 웹사이트s Dr. Randall Bateman, who directs the Dominantly Inherited Alzheimer바카라 게임 웹사이트s Network of studies involving families with these rare genes. 바카라 게임 웹사이트Will they ever get the symptoms of Alzheimer바카라 게임 웹사이트s disease if we keep treating them?바카라 게임 웹사이트
Here바카라 게임 웹사이트s the worry: Bateman raised money to start that confirmatory study while seeking National Institutes of Health funding for the full project but his grant has been delayed as required reviews were canceled. It's one example of how millions of dollars in research have been stalled as NIH grapples with funding restrictions and mass firings.
At the same time researchers wonder if NIH will shift focus away from amyloid research after comments by Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, nominated as the agency's new director.
바카라 게임 웹사이트One of the reasons I think that we have not made progress in Alzheimer바카라 게임 웹사이트s, as much as we ought to have, is because the NIH has not supported a sufficiently wide range of hypotheses,바카라 게임 웹사이트 Bhattacharya told senators, responding to one who brought up an example of earlier science misconduct unrelated to current research.
Scientists don바카라 게임 웹사이트t know exactly what causes Alzheimer바카라 게임 웹사이트s, a mind-destroying disease that affects nearly 7 million Americans, mostly late in life. What바카라 게임 웹사이트s clear is that silent changes occur in the brain at least two decades before the first symptoms -- and that sticky amyloid is a major contributor. At some point amyloid buildup appears to trigger a protein named tau to begin killing neurons, which drives cognitive decline.
Tau-fighting drugs now are being tested. Researchers also are studying other factors including inflammation, the brain바카라 게임 웹사이트s immune cells and certain viruses.
NIH바카라 게임 웹사이트s focus expanded as researchers found more potential culprits. In 2013, NIH바카라 게임 웹사이트s National Institute on Aging funded 14 trials of possible Alzheimer바카라 게임 웹사이트s drugs, over a third targeting amyloid. By last fall, there were 68 drug trials and about 18% targeted amyloid.
Northwestern바카라 게임 웹사이트s Gate counts himself among scientists who 바카라 게임 웹사이트think amyloid isn바카라 게임 웹사이트t everything,바카라 게임 웹사이트 but said nothing has invalidated the amyloid hypothesis. He recently used brain tissue preserved from an old amyloid study to learn how immune cells called microglia can clear those plaques and then switch to helping the brain heal, possible clues for improving today's modest therapies.
For now, amyloid clearly is implicated somehow and families with Alzheimer's-causing genes are helping answer a critical question for anyone at risk: Can blocking amyloid buildup really stave off symptoms? Without NIH funding, Bateman said, that opportunity will be lost.
바카라 게임 웹사이트It바카라 게임 웹사이트s absolutely insane,바카라 게임 웹사이트 said longtime study participant June Ward, who lives near Asheville, North Carolina, and plans to ask friends to complain to lawmakers.
Ward turns 64 in June and is healthy, two years older than when her mother's symptoms appeared. 바카라 게임 웹사이트It is exciting to think about the possibility that Alzheimer바카라 게임 웹사이트s disease might not be what gets me,바카라 게임 웹사이트 she said.
In New York, Heinrichs said he has hope that his 3-year-old son won바카라 게임 웹사이트t 바카라 게임 웹사이트experience the stress and sorrow that I lived through as a young man to watch my father fade away.바카라 게임 웹사이트
바카라 게임 웹사이트We need the NIH to be not politicized,바카라 게임 웹사이트 added Chavkin, his wife. 바카라 게임 웹사이트It바카라 게임 웹사이트s just about keeping people alive or helping them live better. And in this case, it바카라 게임 웹사이트s helping my husband survive.바카라 게임 웹사이트