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Major breakthrough for potential Alzheimer's cure

Thursday, September 1st, 2016 | News
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It’s an exciting and busy time for Alzheimer’s research at the moment, it feels like there’s a new potential cure every week. For the first time ever, it feels like a cure for the disease everyone once thought was incurable is just around the corner.  A recent study that tested a drug called aducanumab, displayed some incredible results. The drug is made up of antibodies, little y-chromosomes that mark out dangerous substances in the body, making it easier for white blood cells to clear them out.

 

The drug has proven effective in clearing the buildup of amyloid beta plaque, a substance that causes Alzheimer’s. The tests are still early, but scientists researching the effects of aducanumab are incredibly excited over the potential it has.Those trialing the drug were split into different groups, with each group receiving a different dosage and a control group taking a placebo. The drug not only halted the growth of amyloid beta, it even manage to reduce it. The strongest dose managed to completely reverse the buildup of amyloid beta, so those who have not yet shown any of the symptoms of Alzheimer’s might never do.

 

This positive news comes straight after the unfortunate death of much loved actor, Gene Wilder. Unknown to the world, he had been suffering from Alzheimer’s for three years. Whilst many people understand the symptoms of the degenerative disease, the majority of people are unsure on how it leads to death - highlighted pon Gene Wilder’s death, when the search term “what are complications of Alzheimer’s” saw an increase of 3950%.

 

The nature of Alzheimer’s means those who are suffering from the later stages of the disease are more prone to death; something which is especially true of people who are unable to move, as a lack of movement can easily lead to blood clots. The other common cause is often pneumonia, as the Alzheimer’s progresses, the immune system is far less able to fight off infection.

It’s fair to say that Alzheimer’s is definitely in the spotlight right now, whether it's negative or positive reasons, it’s great to see the world talking about the disease. The more we talk and discuss the disease, the closer we come to curing it.



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