A new research study provides an explanation for why clinical trials of drugs reducing proteins in the brain that were thought to cause dementia and Alzheimer’s have failed. The study has opened the way for potential new treatments with existing drugs | Human Molecular Genetics | via ScienceDaily
In an article in the journal, Human Molecular Genetics, researchers assembled evidence from a wide range of human studies and animal models of dementia-related diseases to show that inflammation is a major cause, not just a consequence. The new work turns previous thinking around. The genetic linkages imply that the inflammation comes first — and the tissue damage second.
Project leader Professor Robert Richards explains that by reducing some elements of inflammation, it may be possible to reduce dementia symptoms:
“With this new understanding of the disease, we now need to test existing anti-inflammatory drugs for their effectiveness in treating dementia,” he says.
Full story at ScienceDaily
Journal reference: Robert I Richards, Sarah A Robertson, Daniel L Kastner | Neurodegenerative diseases have genetic hallmarks of autoinflammatory disease | Human Molecular Genetics | April 2018