Alzheimer’s is a progressive illness that affects an individual’s behavior, thinking and memory. In the early stages, patients present with mild forgetfulness, and this progresses as time goes by, with patients at the late stage losing many physical abilities, among other things.
This common form of dementia affects more than 50 million individuals around the globe. Often, individuals living with the illness are unable to recognize their spouses or even their own children when the illness is in its final stages. While the illness has no cure, this hasn’t deterred researchers from looking for one.
Previous research had determined that the beta-amyloid protein was the cause of Alzheimer’s. However, this may not be the case, with a new study positing that Alzheimer’s may be a disorder of the immune system in the brain instead of a brain disease.
Investigators at the Krembil Brain Institute began their research by carrying out a comprehensive series of in vivo, in vitro and in silico studies evaluating the atomistic–molecular mechanisms of amyloid beta-mediated and cytokine-mediated neurotoxicities in the illness.
Once this was done, the investigators designed and synthesized new chemical entities to examine the pathways identified by these molecular mechanism studies. They determined that beta-amyloid wasn’t an abnormally produced protein, seeing as it was a significant contributor to the comprehensive immune response of the brain.
In their report, the investigators explained that the beta-amyloid protein couldn’t differentiate between host brain cells and invading pathogens and mistakenly attacked brain cells, causing the progressive loss of brain cell function, and leading to dementia. The investigators note that targeting other immune-regulating pathways in the brain will help find effective and new treatment approaches for this illness.
This study was supported by the Krembil Foundation, Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Alzheimer’s Society of Canada, BrightFocus Foundation, and the Toronto General and Western Hospital Foundation, among other institutions.
It is important to acknowledge that this isn’t the only theory looking to explain the disease’s origins either.
A separate theory posits that Alzheimer’s is an illness of the mitochondria, which generate energy needed to power cells in the body. Other researchers suggest that the progressive illness may be caused by the abnormal handling of metals in the brain, possibly iron, copper or zinc. Yet another theory hypothesizes that the illness is caused by a brain infection brought on by bacteria from the mouth.
To help patients living with the illness as well as their families, researchers need to understand the illness better, find what exactly causes it and determine what can be done to treat it. Entities such as Annovis Bio Inc. (NYSE: ANVS) are devoting considerable resources toward searching for an effective way to halt or even reverse the progression of neurodegenerative ailments such as Alzheimer’s. The coming years could yield positive outcomes from their efforts.
NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to Annovis Bio Inc. (NYSE: ANVS) are available in the company’s newsroom at https://ibn.fm/ANVS
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