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Alzheimer's drugs can accelerate memory loss: dementia researchers with explosive thesis

2021-04-27T18:25:26.303Z


Harmful deposits in the brain promote the development of dementia. But there are also “good plaques”. New knowledge has immense implications for Alzheimer's therapy.


Harmful deposits in the brain promote the development of dementia.

But there are also “good plaques”.

New knowledge has immense implications for Alzheimer's therapy.

According to the Alzheimer Society Baden-Württemberg, around 1.6 million people currently live with dementia in Germany. Most of them are affected by Alzheimer's disease.

The hitherto incurable disorder leads to the death of nerve cells in the brain

, which leads to forgetfulness, confusion and disorientation. If those affected are not treated early, they will increasingly lose the skills they have acquired during their lifetime.

There is no cure for dementia; there is no drug that could prevent the disease from progressing.

However, the symptoms can be temporarily delayed with medication.

In order to find a causal therapy against Alzheimer's, scientists worldwide are researching new treatment approaches - including a team led by Greg Lemke from the Molecular Neurobiology Laboratory at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in the US state of California.

In a study, the researchers made a groundbreaking discovery:

There are two types of plaques in the brain that are considered to be the main cause of dementia - one harmful and one that is beneficial for brain health

.

"Good plaques" in the brain against dementia: "If there are fewer of them, the cell damage is more likely to increase" 

Plaques are protein deposits in the brain that promote the death of brain cells because they negatively affect brain metabolism. The research team led by neurobiology expert Lemke was able to demonstrate in a mouse experiment that diffuse accumulations of amyloid beta protein are more deadly for brain cells than plaques with a dense, compact core.

The latter arise when the body's own "clean-up command" sweeps the diffuse deposits together and makes them less harmful

, as the science portal scinexx.de informs.

A study result that causes a stir.

Because until now it had been assumed that both forms of plaque develop by themselves and then develop their harmful effects.

“We were able to show that the dense-core plaques do not arise spontaneously.

Instead, they are formed by the microglia cells as a protective measure -

these plaques should therefore be left alone,

”Scinexx quotes senior author Greg Lemke.

His colleague Youtong Huang adds, according to scinexx.de: "If there are more diffuse plaques, then dystrophic neurites accumulate - nerve cell extensions that indicate neuronal damage," explains Huang: "The dense plaques, on the other hand, seem to be less harmful: If there is less of gives them, the cell damage tends to increase. " 

New Alzheimer's therapies: don't break up plaques

With regard to dementia therapy, the presence of “good plaques” could have immense effects.

Lemke and team conclude from their study that some drugs tested against Alzheimer's are not very effective - or can even be harmful if they attack and destroy the dense amyloid plaques.

"There are various antibodies in approval tests, the main effect of which is to reduce the dense amyloid plaques," says Lemke: "

But according to our findings, breaking up these deposits could only cause more damage

." The researchers' conclusion: future therapies should not target it designed to destroy brain plaque because certain forms of these deposits have protective effects on brain cells.

(jg)

To the study

More sources: https://www.alzheimer-bw.de/fileadmin/

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