London – Scientists have discovered the key to stopping Alzheimer’s disease in its earliest stages.
The breakthrough paves the way for a “statin-like” drug that could be taken by millions to prevent dementia.
Cambridge University researchers have found a naturally occurring molecule that can slow the formation of plaques in the brain.
Amyloid plaques are closely associated with declining memory and other Alzheimer’s symptoms.
The discovery raises the prospect of a treatment, which could be routinely taken in middle age to stop dementia. It could even result in a pill that could be used to treat dementia in the same way that statins are used to prevent heart disease.
Lead author Dr Samuel Cohen said: “This is the starting point for finding a drug that stops Alzheimer’s disease in its tracks. It might be used when the first symptoms appear. But another potential approach is that people would take it as a preventative drug.”
The condition affects more than 830 000 people in the UK.
The research, published in the journal Nature Structural and Molecular Biology, is the first to reveal how the specific molecule can slow the formation of plaques in the brain.
Amyloid plaques are created when fibrils – tiny toxic threads of protein – wrap around nerve cells in the brain and form clumps, which scientists believe interfere with brain functions.
The Cambridge researchers found that molecules of Brichos – part of a family of proteins that occur naturally in human lungs – can slow the process.
Tests on mice showed that the molecules stick to the fibrils and stops them forming more plaques, halting their spread in the brain. Cohen, of St John’s College, Cambridge, said that the findings opened up new avenues for dementia research.
Cohen said many similar proteins might be suited for use as a drug. “There may well be lots of other molecules like this – we just have not been looking until now because it was not clear what to look for,” he said.
If a suitable molecule is discovered, it could open the way to a drug that could wipe out the damaging plaques as soon as they start to appear.
“People could take them in their 60s to stop these proteins grouping together, well before the symptoms appear, which would reduce the risk of developing the devastating effects of this disease.”
Cautiously optimistic health charities said it promised to reduce the “catastrophic effect” of dementia.
Daily Mail