Alzheimer’s disease was discovered over one hundred years
ago, yet there has been little advancement for treatment of it. Alzheimer’s disease affects over five million
Americans and 236 billion dollars in the United States alone has been spent
working to find a cure. Dr. Sisodia gave
a lecture at Loyola about his studies in the field. Sisodia described
Alzheimer’s disease as a neurodegenerative disease that characterized by
amyloid plaques, neurofibrillary tangles, and synapse loss. He specifically was
looking at an antibody that could reduce amyloid-beta plaques in mice. His
findings could eventually lead to testing in humans and help to find a good
treatment method for people who are suffering with this disease.
With so
many people suffering from this disease, there are many people studying it and
finding new things. Also many more people are studying specifically
amyloid-beta plaques because it is a known characteristic of the disease. The New
York Times has written an article on a study that has just found that
people that are obese that have high cholesterol and high blood pressures are
more likely to have higher levels of amyloid-beta development. This study,
which was published in JAMA, used PET scans to track amyloid-beta levels in
over three hundred for about two years. The found that people with one midlife risk
factor are eighty-eight percent more likely to have high levels of amyloid-beta
than those with zero midlife risk factors. It is important to remember though
that amyloid-beta is one characteristic of this disease. The elevated levels do
not necessarily mean that they will form plaques and cause synaptic loss, but
it is something to keep an eye on.
Alzheimer’s
disease is a terrible disease that is affecting many people worldwide and we
have little treatment for it. At this point in the disease research, it is most
important to be preventative in any way possible. So while having some risk
factors may not mean that you will develop the disease, it could be another
reason to add to the list of why you should take care of your body and be as
healthy as possible. These preventative measures can help some people maintain
health amyloid-beta levels while researchers like Dr. Sisodia are hard at work
trying to find possible treatments and cures for the disease.
Sources:
Dr. Sisodia’s lecture at Loyola University’s Neuroscience
Seminar on April 25, 2017
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