Experts working on a cure for dementia have made a scientific breakthrough which they hope will lead to new possibilities for treatment and even a vaccine within five to ten years. Nothing can be guaranteed – there have been “breakthroughs” before which have sadly petered out – but there won’t be a cure without a breakthrough, so scientists remain hopeful.
The development has been made by a team of US and Australian scientists. They have found a way of targeting two proteins: one that triggers Alzheimer’s, and one which causes it to have ever more severe effects on the sufferer. The two proteins tend to bind together in the brain, forming lumps which are hard to dislodge. The scientists are trying to make the body’s own immune system to produce antibodies which will seek out the proteins, un-clump them and get them out of the brain and into the bloodstream where they can be broken down.
Scientists have been working on the basic concept for some time, but they have now found a way of boosting its effectiveness while avoiding the side effects that have derailed earlier hopes . The treatment has worked when used on mice and it is now going into clinical trials in the USA which will take at least five years.
Scientists hope that they will work up their findings into a treatment which could be given to those diagnosed as being in the early stages of the condition and which would stop, or at least slow, its development. Eventually it may be possible to give a drug to those at risk of developing dementia, or even everyone over a certain age, which would stop the condition developing.
Some 850,000 people are living with dementia in the UK, and with a new patient being diagnosed every three minutes this number is expected to reach one million within ten years. The Alzheimer’s Society offers advice and support to those with the condition and their friends and family. However, dementia is so widespread that the Society is now running a “become a dementia friend” campaign so that people with no personal knowledge of the condition can develop the skills to help people with dementia whom they meet in every day society.
•For more information about the Alzheimer’s Society, go to: https://www.alzheimers.org.uk/
•For more information about becoming a Dementia Friend, go to: https://www.dementiafriends.org.uk/
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