Treating Brain Lesions Early May Stop Alzheimer's Progress

California researchers believe the early treatment of brain lesions may hold the key to halting the progression of Alzheimer's disease. The premise, tested successfully in mice, holds important promise for elderly and caregiver alike in the years ahead if human tests support initial findings.

The initial findings, developed by neurobiologists at the University of California at Irvine, provide the first evidence that early clinical intervention on brain lesions can have such dramatic effect.

In the recently concluded study on mice, drugs called protein kinase C (PKC) activators seem to attack the cause of Alzheimer's disease as well as the symptoms.

advertisement

This occurs because PKC, which is an enzyme, appears to play a role in both Alzheimer's memory loss and in the protein buildup that causes the disease, according to the report in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

In cell cultures of mice, the drugs reduced protein build-up in the brain, helped prevent premature death, and improved behavioral outcomes. Researchers also found that the earlier the treatment begins, the better the chance of success -- findings that have similar implications for people, emphasizing the need for better ways of early diagnosis and treatment of patients with Alzheimer's disease.

Because Alzheimer's already afflicts more than 4.5 million Americans and will affect so many more individuals in years to come, early intervention is considered the most important route for stemming what could otherwise overwhelm families, caregivers and the medical system.

RESOURCES

For more information on this topic, check out these resources:

Article about this research.

More about a hypothesis that is controversial.

Earlier treatment for Alzheimer's is always better.

Email or share this story

_____

View The Caregiver's Hotline in which this article first appeared

Back to Top