Amyloid-Beta and Preventative Measures for Alzheimer's

        

             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

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/12/well/mind/heart-risks-in-midlife-tied-to-brain-plaques-of-alzheimers.html?_r=0