8 Incredible Medical Breakthroughs That Are Right Around The Corner
8. Cure For Alzheimer's
With life expectancy being constantly shifted further back, more and more research is having to be done in the fight against age-related illness. One of the most devastating of these illnesses is Alzheimer's disease.
Alzheimer's hit the headlines after scientists discovered that there was a possibility that it could be transmittable through a number of medical procedures, including blood transfusions and dental work. As frightening as this news may appear to be, it gives us a whole new unexpected dimension of understanding of the disease and how it occurs. After all, knowing your enemy is the most important step in defeating it.
It should also be noted that it is not possible to "catch" it from contact with someone with the disease.
In Australia, a team of scientists have managed to come up with a non-invasive, non-pharmaceutical potential treatment that uses ultrasound technology to break down the neurotoxic amyloid plaques that contribute to memory loss in Alzheimer's patients. The plaques cause the neurofibrils in the brain to "tangle", disrupting the processing of information and producing the symptoms of Alzheimer's.
In tests on mice, the team were able to restore full memory function to 75% of mice with these build ups, an astonishing result. They say they are planning trials on more complex animals such as sheep and hope to have human trials underway as early as 2017.
Some scientists believe that this might not be the answer, however, as the clearing away of the plaques is just half the battle. The latest research seems to suggest that the abnormal build up of amyloid proteins in the brain are a symptom, not a cause of the disease and the root of the problem lies within the brain's defence mechanisms.
The brain responds to these plaques by switching off the production of new proteins, preventing it from making repairs to itself and speeding the degeneration associated with Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and CJD. By using a drug that inhibits the production of the enzyme responsible for this, known as Perk, we could be able to prevent this destructive effect.
If both of these techniques prove to be safe and effective, there is the potential that they could both be used in a two-pronged attack in the fight against neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's.