new discovery to slow the progression of the disease

What if Alzheimer’s disease could be delayed? In any case, a new study published this Friday, October 29 gives hope. More than 40 million people are affected by this neurodegenerative disease worldwide. New analyzes were carried out on 400 brain samples from deceased people with Alzheimer’s disease. The study consists of “quantify the speed of molecular processes” according to the press release Science Advances, relayed by our colleagues from West France. The aggregates, causing the death of brain cells, do not double until after five years. In other words, neurons are able to fight these aggregates for several years. A major discovery that could make it possible to adjust treatments and slow down the disease.

“Maybe if we manage to improve them a bit, we can significantly delay the onset of critical illness.”, explained Georg Meisl, a chemist at the University of Cambridge, about these neurons. According to the researchers, the aggregates follow “exponential growth”, which explains why Alzheimer’s disease takes many years to develop and then reaches a severe form very quickly. This neurodegenerative disease is classified into several stages. The phenomenon spread over a period of 35 years, from “mild symptoms” at the most advanced stage.

An important study for other diseases

This study also allows progress on other diseases related to the brain. Starting with brain damage and frontotemporal dementia. “Hopefully this study and others will help guide the development of future treatments […] so that they are more likely to slow the disease and help people with dementia “, expressed Sara Imarisio, in a press release from the British Alzheimer’s Research UK association. This new research carried out by chemist Georg Meisl has been made possible in particular thanks to PET scans, a medical imaging technique.