Alzheimer’s is a disease that many of us have had an experience with. For me, it was with my Great-Grandmother. I never got to know her because of this disease. All I met was a shell of what she once was. My family tells me all of the stories of who she was, and how great she was. All I knew were the stories and I never got to know the amazing person.  Alzheimer’s is a disease of the brain, attacking the very neurons that hold our memory. Alzheimer’s takes away the very memories that make the person who they are, their experiences, their family, and their friends. It takes away their life, and because of it, I shall never truly know the great woman that was my Great-Grandmother.

This disease destroys the neurons with A-Beta.  It does this by clumping and changing the very structure of tau. Tau is a protein. This mutated protein destroys the neurons. To treat this, some scientists are trying to use active immunization. They hope that it will convince the microglia of the brain to attack the disease at its source. Another approach to research is to use passive immunization. Scientists hope to use A-Beta and tau to discover the cure.

To reverse the loss of memory, scientists at Salk Institute are researching J147. This has been tested in mice at the hopes it will help the vast number of people who are dealing with this disease.  They are testing this in David Schubert’s laboratory. This drug seems beneficial to the mice, and is believed to increase the BDNF of the brain. This protects neurons and also helps them grow. This drug is improving the mice and their memory. Hopefully J147 will hold a place in Alzheimer’s and its cure.

Salk Institute has discovered fisetin. This amazing chemical is found naturally in everyday fruits and vegetables.  This chemical helps a pathway in the brain on. This pathway is a key to memory. This chemical has shown to prevent memory loss in mice susceptible to Alzheimer’s disease. This research is headed by Pamela Maher. Fisetin is a new way of combating Alzheimer’s; it targets the memory, not the A-Beta.

Alzheimer’s is a disease that begins well before the symptoms show, and is very dangerous. These compelling leads in Alzheimer’s research will hopefully hold up the inevitable; death from Alzheimer’s. Hopefully this research will stop people from going through what my great-grandmother did. As the disease progressed she forgot who her family was, who she was, and finally how to eat. She eventually died when she could no longer remember how to drink. Death by Alzheimer’s is a cruel one. It grasps on too who you are and kills you memory by memory.

 

How is the research progressing now?

How do the drugs and chemicals used to counteract Alzheimer’s affect us?

How long does it take for Alzheimer’s to kill a person?