A preclinical study has tested a new vaccine for Alzheimer’s disease. The researchers found that the vaccine, which targets the beta-amyloid protein, was safe and effective in mice.
Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive neurological condition and the most common cause of dementia.
According to the latest estimates from the Alzheimer’s Association, 1 in 10 people over the age of 65 years in the U.S. have Alzheimer’s disease, and experts expect the number of people with the condition to increase as the population ages. By 2050, projections show that 13.8 million people aged 65 years and over will have Alzheimer’s disease in the U.S.
While groups around the world are working to find an effective treatment for the condition, an alternative approach is to develop a vaccine. Although they are more commonly associated with infectious diseases, vaccines can also prime the body to defend itself against other, noninfectious molecules.
In Alzheimer’s disease, scientists believe that two processes drive the progression of the disease: the buildup of plaques comprising beta-amyloid proteins between neurons in the brain and tangled knots of the tau protein within neurons.
CAN A KETOGENIC DIET PREVENT HEART FAILURE?
A high fat, low carb diet reversed heart failure in a mouse model of the condition. A 24-hour fast also led to improvements, mimicking the physiological effects of the diet.
In people with heart failure, the muscle on the right or left side of the heart or on both sides weakens. This impairment limits the organ’s ability to pump blood around the body, causing fatigue and shortness of breath, among other symptoms.
The leading causes are high blood pressure, diabetes, and ischemic heart disease, in which the heart muscle becomes starved of oxygen.
The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute estimate that about 5.7 million people in the United States have heart failure. There is currently no cure, but medications and lifestyle changes can improve people’s quality of life and increase their lifespan.
Healthy heart muscle can draw upon a variety of chemical energy sources, depending on the circumstances. One of these is a molecule called pyruvate, which the body generates during the breakdown of the sugar glucose.
A study has found that older people in the United States who take these potentially harmful medications make more visits to the hospital and pay higher healthcare costs.
