Medical Breakthrough: Treatment For Dementia Can Help Patients with Alzheimer's Disease

Another medical breakthrough in terms of treating dementia surfaced which couple possibly help millions of patients suffering from Alzheimer's. It was revealed that the team of scientists could possibly slow down the effects of dementia as well.

Mirror reported that a group of scientists from Cambridge University revealed that they can "possibly" reduce and slow down the symptoms of dementia which eventually leads to Alzheimer's disease. The researchers suggest that they can potentially "control the rapid build-up" of the disease causing symptoms and can prolong the generation of Alzheimer's disease in the affected individual.

It was revealed that the "plaques" which is responsible for Alzheimer's disease is caused by fibrils, called anyloids. These fibrils would tangle as they start to deteriorate causing plaques which are found in a person with Alzheimer's.

The study published in Nature Physic revealed that the rampant spread of the plaques can be toned down through computer simulations and lab experiments that eventually led them to a possible solution. It was revealed that by having a build-up of healthy proteins in the surface of exiting fibrils that are affected.

"One of the mysteries of amyloid plaque formation is how, after their long, slow formation, the speed of their progression becomes much faster," Dr Andela Saric, the first author of the study said.

"We've identified the factors that in fact cause the system to catalyse its own activity, becoming a runaway process," Saric added. "But this discovery suggests that if we're able to control the build-up of healthy proteins on the fibrils, we might be able to limit the aggregation and spread of plaques."

Parent Herald recently reports that dementia is often caused by previous infections that can possibly affect the brain. It was previously stated that the brain's attempt to fight infections caused it to gather the bacteria and viruses ward by the brain during the process.