Alzheimer's Cause Identified?

JediJeremy writes "Naturehas this article on the possibility that researchers have identified the cause of Alzheimers. Their research says that amyloid beta, a protein in the brain, may cause plaques and makes an enzyme -BACE1-that causes dimentia. In the study mice, those without BACE1 did not get dimentia, while the others did. The article also says that there are current market drugs that can stop BACE1 production and all that needs to be done is for a human trial to begin. Looks like there is hope for those that suffer."

Comments

Relosing one's mind

[G4from128k]

One of the ugly little side effects of dementia correcting drugs is that they eventually stop working. The drug helps the patient for a while (they regain functioning) but then the mind inevitably succumbs to age a second time. Patients and family get to suffer through the process of losing their mind, memories, and personality a second time.

I can only hope that this drug helps patients before they suffer a decline in mental faculties -- going through it once is bad enough, losing your mind twice is hell for both the patient and their loved ones.

I think this is a symptom and not the problem!

[mistert2]

But this sounds more promising than cooking with aluminum pots and pans.

I question the high rate of this problem and the high rate of TV watching of its victims. I don't think TV builds up the plaque in the brain. I think it comes down more to life style.

The progression of this disease is quite depressing. I bought a house from a couple, and the wife was getting into to the later stages. They moved next door to their daughter, because he could hardly leave the house.

I hope this drug doesn't just delay the disease, we need a cure. I want to start watching TV again.

Don't you ever wonder if your starting to get this. Walk into a room and forget why you are there.

Don't you ever wonder if your starting to get this. Start posting and .....

Re:I think this is a symptom and not the problem!

[Anonymous Coward]

There is one and only one reason, and the political meat production conglomerates are the only ones stopping the truth from coming out

Fact: Vegetarians don't get alzheimer's. ever The human body was not designed to eat meat, and doing so causes ALL sorts of problems. Sure it's a concentrated form of some proteins, but it's not worth the risk of having rotten animal flesh sitting in your intestines for months on end.

You DO know that vegetable matter is expelled from the body within 8 hours, but rotting animal flesh can sit there for months, don't you?

Breast cancer is another disease that never affects vegetarians. Make the lifestyle choice today. I guarantee you won't regret it.

Re:I think this is a symptom and not the problem!

[morgandelra]

Umm, I'd have to say look at your friggin' teeth moron. Human's are omnivores, our teeth are designed as omnivores deal with it. If we where meant to be vegetarians, how come we cannot digest cellulose? And how come we can subsist on meat alone? Inuit traditionally ate almost all meat diets, and it seems they did rather well, unless your gonna say that inuit are not human....

Re:I think this is a symptom and not the problem!

[Anonymous Coward]

As I understand it, the homeopathic use of ipecac is so diluted that it is almost certainly just a null operation. (It may have a placebo effect of course). There would not really be a medical reason to recommend against it, except that people may try it in lieu of a remedy that is actually effective.

Whereas what the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends against is the more traditional use of ipecac to induce vomiting. This was a complicated decision based on various things including but not limited to: the development of more effective emergency care services, the reduction of the rate of accidental poisonings, and the problem that people may buy a large bottle of ipecac that the kid(s) may find and ingest.

In any case, during the last 50 years the standard medical recommendation in the US regarding poisonings was that vomiting was only to be induced upon advisement from a physician or the local poison control center.

But yeah... homeopathy practitioners will often claim to treat patients with some substance X, when in fact the portion being administered has been so diluted that (there is a very high probability that) not a single molecule of the original X remains in the solution. It's hard for me to consider that as having any real physical principle behind it.

Another theory on the cause of Alzheimer's

[young-earth]

See here for a book that has hard data on the cause of Alzheimers and many other diseases. It's not popular with the mega food companies, as it puts a lot of the blame in their laps. But it makes a lot of sense.

It has to do with excitotoxins, such as glutamates, aspartates, and others when present in abnormal, imbalanced quantities.

can't be that new

[shaitand]

a google search for this enzyme and for amyloid beta
yields slews of not so new results relating it to the disease.

According to some of what I read green tea is known to inhibit the enzyme.

More microscopic images

[MrBlic]

Check out this alzheimers in a human brain microscopic slide. Click on the purple crosshair buttons on the left to be directed to some plaques and tangles: Click here

Re:This is great!

[KDan]

Ditto to the wish for a cure. My grandmother has dementia too, and it hurts me just to see what she's degenerated into. :-( It's almost as if she was already dead - she barely recognises me or my father (her son), and even if she does, the only way she shows it is by looking at one of us for a long time. The only way in which she still seems to function as a conscious human being is that when my dad touches here and says "mom?" in the right tone of voice she slightly turns towards him and says "hmm?" like a normal human being would. But that's about it.

Alzheimer's is a terrible, terrible disease that I would not wish on my worst enemies...

Daniel