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Promising Cure for Alzheimer’s Found in Germany | ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive 2005 -2017
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Scientists in Germany find a promising potential cure to Alzheimer’s disease. (Reuters)


Cologne – German scientists have succeeded in hindering the work of a specific enzyme that plays a major role in the development of Alzheimer’s disease. The new achievement is supposed to pave roads for a promising cure for this ailment.

Dr. Marc Aurel Busche from the Technical University of Munich said they successfully used an inhibitor drug to reduce the amount of amyloid beta in trials on mice. Amyloid beta is a protein believed to be a major cause of Alzheimer’s disease, he added.

The study showed that using the mentioned enzyme reduced the amount of amyloid beta in the brains of mice and restored the normal function of nerve cells and significantly improved memory.

The mice were fed the beta secretase inhibitor for up to eight weeks. Then, scientists examined the brains of the mice, and found that amyloid beta’s accumulation declined and brain functions actually normalized.

It also showed a lack of highly efficient cells, which can usually be found in the brain of Alzheimer’s patients. Electromagnetic waves in mice’s brains returned to normal, and mice’s memory obviously improved as well.

When testing the mice’s speed to find hidden food sites in the laboratory, Alzheimer’s mice succeeded, after treatment, in finding them at the same speed and ability of healthy mice.

Dr. Marc Orell Bosch and his team are currently planning an experience to inhibit the beta-cytrease inhibitors in humans. The trial will involve about 1,000 people with Alzheimer’s.

About 1.3 million Germans are suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, and the number is expected to double to 2.6 million by 2050. The disease is related to aging; Alzheimer’s rate among people over 65 years is 2 percent, and jumps to 3 percent after 70 years, and over 6 percent over 75 years.