Possible Treatment for Slowing Progression of Alzheimer’s Disease
Lymph Capillaries
Search for a Cure for Alzheimer’s Disease
The search for a cure for Alzheimer’s disease (AD) races on. In fact, no real single cause has been found to show what upsets the chemistry in the brain that starts the process of beta amyloid protein forming into plaques and tau protein forming into tangles. In fact, most researchers believe there are several factors that can lead to Alzheimer’s disease including genes, environment and aging.
Disruption of Brain Cleansing by Lymph can Lead to Formation of Beta Amyloid Plaque
A new study published July 25, 2018, by researchers from the Kipnis Lab of the University of Virginia in Nature shows that the brain, due to aging, loses the ability to cleanse itself by a process that removes toxins via lymph vessels that surround the brain to lymph nodes in the neck. This leads to a back up of waste materials in the brain and this sets off the erratic formation of beta amyloid into plaques.
Improving Lymph Vessels Led to Better Memory and Learning Function in Mice
The researchers were able to reverse this aging process in lymph vessels in mice with vascular endothelial growth factor C and this led to better memory and learning function in aging mice.
Hope for New Treatment to Reverse Aging in Lymph Vessels
Jonathon Kipnis and the other researchers believe that this opens a new avenue for research to discover a way to prevent or slow down the progress of Alzheimer’s disease by finding a way to prevent or reverse aging of lymphatic blood vessels. If Alzheimer’s could be delayed long enough it would not appear as dementia until after the length of the human life span.
Alzheimer’s Disease (AD)
Alzheimer’s disease is the most common neurodegenerative dementia that is estimated to affect about 5.7 million Americans and 50 million people worldwide.
The progression is slow and it is believed that there is a preclinical state of about 10 years where brain damage is taking place, but without showing any symptoms. It eventually leads to memory loss, an inability to think and reason and problems with carrying out tasks. In the final stage the afflicted person is mainly bed ridden unable to do anything at all. It causes enormous financial and emotional stress on family members, especially spouses.
Alzheimer’s Disease May Now be the Third Cause of Death in the United States
Alzheimer’s disease is ranked as the 6th cause of death in the United States, although according to the National Institute on Aging (NIA), it may really be the third cause of death, as deaths do not always get reported, as being from Alzheimer’s. If the person died of pneumonia, for instance, then pneumonia is listed on the death certificate, even if the main disease was Alzheimer’s.
Long-term Skilled Nursing Care
If your loved one is suffering from Alzheimer’s and is in need of being in a skilled nursing and rehab facility make sure to choose one that has a memory care unit like the Van Duyn Center for Rehabilitation and Nursing in Syracuse, New York.
Conclusion
Aging lymph vessels may be one of the factors that can lead to Alzheimer’s disease, so hopefully the results of this study will lead to more research that can show a safe way of preventing or slowing down the progression of Alzheimer’s dementia.