dyslimbic
10-01-2007, 08:06 AM
A nasal spray packed with viruses could ease the devastating symptoms of Alzheimer's disease.
The treatment improved memory and learning in mice with a disease similar to Alzheimer's.
Scientists hope a version of the spray for humans could be on sale within seven years. Although existing pills can delay the progress of symptoms such as memory loss, their effectiveness is limited.
The latest research focuses on beta amyloid, a sticky protein that clogs up the brain in Alzheimer's patients, destroying connections between brain cells.
Israeli scientists have developed a nasal spray packed with viruses called bacteriophages, or phages for short, which break up these sticky patches, known as plaques
.
Although phages are known to kill bacteria, this is the first time they have been shown to have an effect on plaques in the brain. In tests on mice, regular treatment for a year cut the amount of amyloid in their brains by 80 per cent.
The drug also improved the mice's memory and learning, and restored their sense of smell, which is often lost early in the onset of Alzheimer's. Researcher Professor Beka Solomon said: 'The mice showed a very nice recovery of their cognitive function.'
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/health/thehealthnews.html?in_article_id=484847&in_page_id=1774&ito=1490
The treatment improved memory and learning in mice with a disease similar to Alzheimer's.
Scientists hope a version of the spray for humans could be on sale within seven years. Although existing pills can delay the progress of symptoms such as memory loss, their effectiveness is limited.
The latest research focuses on beta amyloid, a sticky protein that clogs up the brain in Alzheimer's patients, destroying connections between brain cells.
Israeli scientists have developed a nasal spray packed with viruses called bacteriophages, or phages for short, which break up these sticky patches, known as plaques
.
Although phages are known to kill bacteria, this is the first time they have been shown to have an effect on plaques in the brain. In tests on mice, regular treatment for a year cut the amount of amyloid in their brains by 80 per cent.
The drug also improved the mice's memory and learning, and restored their sense of smell, which is often lost early in the onset of Alzheimer's. Researcher Professor Beka Solomon said: 'The mice showed a very nice recovery of their cognitive function.'
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/health/thehealthnews.html?in_article_id=484847&in_page_id=1774&ito=1490