3 Promising Studies in Alzheimer's Disease Research Hint Towards Future Solutions
We know a little about how to handle Alzheimer’s disease. For instance, good nutrition and exercise can prevent it. Keeping yourself mentally engaged can lead to an improvement in memory.
There are also anecdotes from those who care for people living with Alzheimer’s disease that have revealed that music and storytelling can help temporarily lift the mental fog.
A dramatic example of the effects that music can have on Alzheimer’s patients can be found in this recent viral video from Tim and Simon McDermott. Tim suffers from the disease. His son, Simon, recorded several videos in which the duo perform car karaoke. He notes that Tim’s mood has lightened, and his memory has slightly improved.
Kim Boyes, the owner of a retirement home in South Florida, recalls a patient who suffered severe memory loss, but could recall an astonishing level of detail when telling stories. The patient’s stories often included details that were decades-old.
While facts like these often make good headlines, more lasting solutions might be on the horizon. Recent developments in Alzheimer’s research may shed much-needed light on the condition. Here are three recent, promising discoveries in Alzheimer’s research:
Clinical trials showing positive results
Sacramento’s Sutter Neuroscience Institute has been conducting clinical trials for a treatment for Alzheimer’s disease since 2012. Researchers are injecting patients with a series of infusions consisting of intravenous immunoglobulin. This will remove amyloid — a protein that causes brain damage in Alzheimer’s patients — from the brain.
Thus far, patients have reported improved cognitive function. David Johnson, one of the patients, was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s three years ago. Despite the short life expectancy that comes with such a diagnosis, Johnson claims that he still feels well: “I resigned myself to dying. I knew I had three to five years left.” He continued on to say that “getting into a clinical trial was the luck of the draw. I got a lucky card.”
The Sutter Neuroscience Institute’s trial will conclude in approximately one year. If the overall results are as positive as they have been for Johnson, huge changes in Alzheimer’s treatment could follow.
Pain medication might reverse symptoms
In another study, researchers found that mefenamic acid — a pain reliever typically used to lessen period pain — might reverse the symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease.
Lab mice showing symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease were given regular doses of the pain reliever for one month. All signs of inflammation or memory loss disappeared. While the question of whether or not the same treatment could prove to be effective in humans remains to be seen, the results of the study are a sign that there is potential; we share about 97.5% of our DNA with mice.
It is important that mefenamic acid has already been approved for use. Dr. Brown, the director of Research and Development of the Alzheimer’s Society, stated that “testing drugs already in use is a priority… it could allow us to shortcut the fifteen years or so needed to develop a new dementia drug from scratch.” If the research proves to be fruitful, changes in Alzheimer’s treatment could begin very quickly.
Possible vaccine being developed
Last month, a team of researchers revealed that they have created what might become a vaccine against Alzheimer’s disease. Again, testing was performed on lab mice for this study. The vaccine targets the proteins that cause brain damage that is representative of Alzheimer's. Results thus far have been positive.
According to Dr. Agadjanyan, an immunologist who worked on this study, “a vaccine that could be used before people are very sick with Alzheimer’s will be far more effective than trying to treat the disease once it has progressed.” If this vaccine proves to be efficacious in clinical trials, Alzheimer’s screenings may become a common practice in the future.
Critics of the vaccine approach state that such studies should be abandoned. There are concerns that the vaccine could cause harm in the form of toxic autoimmune responses. Critics may be cautious due to previous studies in which vaccines were found to be the cause of brain inflammation. These worries may complicate the process for beginning clinical trials.
The future of Alzheimer’s disease research
While these studies show some promise, they are exceptions in a field that desperately needs help. One of the most impactful factors preventing Alzheimer’s research is inadequate funding.
There is good news on this front: recently, it was announced that the National Institutes of Health (NIH) would be receiving $1.39 billion in 2017 for further research into the disease. This brings funding up to just over $3 billion per year. Given this budget, the NIH estimates that a cure for Alzheimer’s disease could be found by 2025.
Those interested in helping should look to their local Alzheimer’s Association chapter.
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