New drug could reduce risk of early-onset Alzheimer's

An experimental drug appears to reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s in people destined” to develop the disease in middle age.

- REBECCA WHITTAKER

The study, published in the journal The Lancet Neurolo , involved 73 people with rare, inherited genetic mutations that cause the overproduction of the protein amyloid in the brain.

This all but guarantees they will develop Alzheimer’s disease in their 30s, 40s or 50s.

For 22 patients who had no cognitive problems at the start of the study, and who received the anti-amyloid drug the longest – an average of eight years – the treatment lowered the risk of developing symptoms by half.

The results boost hopes that similar treatments being developed to target more common forms of Alzheimer’s – that appear when people reach their sixties, seventies and eighties – might also be effective.

These findings provide new evidence to support the theory that amyloid leads to Alzheimer’s disease. It’s thought amyloid forms toxic plaques around brain cells and as the brain becomes affected, there is also a decrease in chemical messengers, called neurotransmitters, involved in sending messages between brain cells.

The study suggests removing such plaques or stopping them from forming can prevent symptoms of the memory-robbing disease.