A breakthrough in research is huge news for all the thousands of families coping with Alzheimer's disease."We haven't ever invested any efforts into it because we have been just going with the narrative," said Dr. Alberto Espay, professor of neurology at UC.Espay said, for decades, that narrative has been based on an assumption: That we need to treat a plaque build-up in the brains of Alzheimer's patients.The approach has not been successful.Today, a new study from the University of Cincinnati said researchers were looking at it all wrong.Researchers thought dementia came from a build-up of amyloid plaques in the brain. This study finds it's not the plaques that need to be treated but the loss of a protein in the brain.Now, knowing this information Espay advises against current treatments, saying they can cost a fortune with little or no effect or make things worse."Every single study every done for the past two years shows that no matter how successful we are in decreasing amyloid plaques, nothing good happens. Our best patients are about the same — that's called futility — and, at worse, more impaired cognitively and their brains shrink," Espay said.So, Espay said all treatments going forward need to look at gaining back this protein.The UC team is already working on a new way to do that testing a treatment in animals."We already have very preliminary evidence that it seems that it's actually doing just that. Probably over the next two years, we need to make sure that all the safety is worked out," Espay said.Espay said he expects human trials to begin during that two-year time frame and it could become a reality by 2025.
CINCINNATI —
A breakthrough in research is huge news for all the thousands of families coping with Alzheimer's disease.
"We haven't ever invested any efforts into it because we have been just going with the narrative," said Dr. Alberto Espay, professor of neurology at UC.
Espay said, for decades, that narrative has been based on an assumption: That we need to treat a plaque build-up in the brains of Alzheimer's patients.
The approach has not been successful.
Today, a new study from the University of Cincinnati said researchers were looking at it all wrong.
Researchers thought dementia came from a build-up of amyloid plaques in the brain. This study finds it's not the plaques that need to be treated but the loss of a protein in the brain.
Now, knowing this information Espay advises against current treatments, saying they can cost a fortune with little or no effect or make things worse.
"Every single study every done for the past two years shows that no matter how successful we are in decreasing amyloid plaques, nothing good happens. Our best patients are about the same — that's called futility — and, at worse, more impaired cognitively and their brains shrink," Espay said.
So, Espay said all treatments going forward need to look at gaining back this protein.
The UC team is already working on a new way to do that testing a treatment in animals.
"We already have very preliminary evidence that it seems that it's actually doing just that. Probably over the next two years, we need to make sure that all the safety is worked out," Espay said.
Espay said he expects human trials to begin during that two-year time frame and it could become a reality by 2025.