|
|
|
The toxin, called quinolinic acid, kills nerve cells in the brain, leading to dysfunction and death, the scientists said. Quinolinic acid may not be the cause of Alzheimers disease, but it plays a key role in its progression, Alzheimers researcher Dr Karen Cullen from the University of Sydney said in a statement. Its the smoking gun, if you like. While we wont be able to prevent people from getting Alzheimers disease, we may eventually, with the use of drugs, be able to slow down the progression. Alzheimers is a brain-destroying disease that affects millions of people around the world. As the population gets steadily older, experts estimate numbers will balloon to as many as 16 million in the United States alone by 2015. More than 200,000 people have Alzheimers disease in Australia and the number is expected to rise to 730,000 by 2050. Outward symptoms start with memory loss, which progresses to complete helplessness as brain cells are destroyed. In the brain, neurons die as messy plaques and tangles of protein form. The Alzheimers research team from Sydneys St Vincents Hospital, the University of Sydney and Japans Hokkaido University found quinolinic acid neurotoxicity in the brains of dementia patients. Quinolinic acid is part of a biochemical pathway called the kynurenine pathway which is also found in other brain disorders, including Huntingtons disease and schizophrenia. The scientists said there were several drugs in an advanced stage of development for other conditions which targeted this pathway and that these drugs, which still need to be tested, could be used to complement other treatments for Alzheimers. |
加入最爱