Five million people in the US today struggle with Alzheimer’s…and approximately 47 million globally are stricken, this being the most common form of dementia.
Even more fearful for some, Alzheimer’s carries with it a genetic component.
Alzheimer’s…starts when amyloid beta peptide, sticky plaques, … invade the brain. These snap connections between neurons and choke them to death.
Usually, Alzheimer’s begins in the cortex and spreads out from there, engulfing the hippocampus and then other areas. At the onset, symptoms may look like regular, age-related forgetfulness. Oftentimes, Alzheimer’s starts way before the disease is readily present, perhaps a decade or two before symptoms are recognized or felt.
Now researchers at Imperial College London have come up with a novel approach, a form of gene therapy delivered by a virus. If all goes well, it may act as a vaccine—protecting patients from developing Alzheimer’s, as well as a cure in the early stages. Viruses enter cells and write their own genetic code into them, in order to replicate.
If you want to try and goose such benefits yourself, try a little red wine, and perhaps some exercise—though not at the same time.
The GLP aggregated and excerpted this blog/article to reflect the diversity of news, opinion, and analysis. Read full, original post: Gene Therapy Technique Vaccinates Against and Cures Early-Stage Alzheimer’s
