THE first drug to prevent Alzheimer’s disease has been created.
It boosts a chemical which clears the brain of rogue proteins that cause memory loss and confusion, say US scientists.
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Mice prone to the disorder remained free of it after being injected with the compound.
It is hoped the revolutionary medicine will slow or even reverse dementia in humans.
As of yet, there are no treatments that can do this as existing ones only help with symptoms.
Currently there are more than 520,000 people in the UK who are affected by Alzheimer’s.
A hallmark of the disease is the build-up of amyloid beta proteins in the brain, which causes plaques.
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The plaques then result in the loss of connections between nerve cells in the brain – and ultimately the death of those cells and a loss of brain tissue.
This new, potentially revolutionary drug is known as a “pharmacological chaperone” as it mends the mutant amyloid beta proteins that clump together in patients’ brains.
Trials are now planned.
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