Scientists Make Major Breakthrough in Fight Against Alzheimer’s Disease

Scientists at the the Cleveland Clinic Lerner Research Institute have successfully reversed Alzheimer’s disease in mice, a major breakthrough researchers are hopeful will translate into treatment for humans in the near future.

“To our knowledge, this is the first observation of such a dramatic reversal of amyloid deposition in any study of Alzheimer’s disease mouse models,” said researcher Riqiang Yan in a news release concerning the study . . .

Researchers found that the deletion of BACE1 in adult mice reversed amyloid deposition and improved cognitive functions.

“One of the earliest events in Alzheimer’s disease is an abnormal buildup of beta-amyloid peptide, which can form large, amyloid plaques in the brain and disrupt the function of neuronal synapses. Also known as beta-secretase, BACE1 helps produce beta-amyloid peptide by cleaving amyloid precursor protein (APP),” explains the Rockefeller University Press release.

The scientists successfully “generated mice that gradually lose this enzyme as they grow older. These mice developed normally and appeared to remain perfectly healthy over time,” notes the release. (Read more from “Scientists Make Major Breakthrough in Fight Against Alzheimer’s Disease” HERE)

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