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Alzheimer ’ s breakthrough
Researchers reverse memory decline in ‘ groundbreaking ’ Alzheimer ’ s trial .
By Wade Zaglas
Two scientists at Macquarie
University have discovered a new treatment that can reverse the effects of memory loss associated with Alzheimer ’ s disease , the leading cause of death for women and the second leading cause of death of all Australians .
The “ ground-breaking ” treatment developed by the scientists – who happen to be brothers – reversed the effects of memory loss related to Alzheimer ’ s disease in a study of mice with advanced dementia .
By activating a “ naturally protective enzyme in the brain called p38gamma , the scientists were able to eliminate the toxic effects leading to memory loss ”. Not only has this discovery shown promise for Alzheimer ’ s disease , the researchers believe it could hold potential for treating other dementia-related diseases , such as frontotemporal dementia , which typically affects much younger people in their 40s and 50s . Lars and Arne Ittner from Macquarie ’ s Dementia Research Centre have dedicated more than a decade of their lives to studying dementia treatments . The breakthrough for the treatment apparently came when Arne discovered that gene therapy was able to replace a protective enzyme in the brain with “ outstanding impacts on memory in advanced dementia ”.
Arne said increases in Alzheimer ’ s disease in Australia are attributable to our ageing population and highlighted the high mortality rate .
“ Numbers-wise , basic science has managed to reduce the mortality of all major diseases – cancer , diabetes , blood pressure and so forth – but we are still seeing increases in Alzheimer ’ s disease , and so getting into the space and doing something about it is of utmost importance .”
In completely reversing memory loss in mice , the brothers achieved more than they set out to do in their hypothesis . Originally , their goal was merely to halt the deterioration of memory .
“ We were completely surprised ,” Lars Ittner said .
“ They actually recovered their memory function and their ability to learn returned . So , two months after we treated the mice at very old ages , these mice suddenly behaved like their normal siblings . We were really stoked . There is no comparable therapy out there and no other gene therapy either .”
Before testing began , the Ittners ’ aim was to rebuild the lost enzymatic memory activity of the mice and make it more efficient . By researching memory impairments in mice at advanced stages of dementia , “ they found that activating p38gamma can modify a protein such that it prevents the development of Alzheimer ’ s disease symptoms ”.
As Lars Ittner explained : “ The naturally protective enzymatic activity in the brain is unfortunately lost the further you progress down the Alzheimer ’ s disease track – so the more memory you lose , the more you also lose this natural protective effect .”
The “ world-first ” findings will be published in the September edition of the journal Acta Neuropathologica , and the researchers believe their gene therapy approach to treating Alzheimer ’ s disease “ has the potential to put Australia on the map ”.
Arne Ittner said that , traditionally , researchers have had difficulty modelling dementia experiments as , by the time the person with dementia or their family notices any peculiarities , they are “ already quite far down the memory defect lane ”. He believes gene therapy will be “ especially significant ” in alleviating this difficulty .
“ By its nature , the neurodegeneration is incredibly slow which is notoriously hard to study and hard to model ,” he said .
“ The brain is a black box and some days we get lucky and get glimpses of how it functions , and we learn we can interfere with the mechanism in this black box . Now we have detailed understanding of the mechanisms involved down to the amino acids , which is just quite unprecedented .”
Professor Dan Johnson , pro vicechancellor of Research Innovation at Macquarie University , said they were “ hopeful of realising immediate local benefits ”.
“ If all goes well , we may find ourselves with a clinical trial done at Macquarie Hospital with this therapy ,” he said .
“ Macquarie is investing in the uniqueness of the science and the supporting intellectual property position .
“ A lot of the focus right now is on the fundamental science breakthrough and this is clearly a significant achievement . The next phase takes on an additional level of complexity , cost and time to deliver .”
The university is currently deciding the best way to develop the therapy before commencing a clinical trial . If the therapy ’ s success story continues , the researchers hope the gene therapy can be commercialised within five to ten years . According to Johnson some of the world ’ s biggest pharmaceutical companies have already shown interest in the therapy ’ s potential . ■
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