Have you ever thought about what happens inside our bodies that can cause diseases like Alzheimer’s?
Scientists are always curious about these questions, and they often go deep into our bodies, studying our blood, our brain, and even the fluid that surrounds our spinal cord.
Let’s talk about a discovery they’ve made that could help us fight Alzheimer’s disease.
Understanding Alzheimer’s
Before we dive into the discovery, let’s first understand what Alzheimer’s disease is. It’s a type of dementia, a condition that affects the brain and leads to problems with memory, thinking, and behavior.
The most common form of dementia is Alzheimer’s disease, affecting millions of people worldwide. As the disease progresses, the brain shrinks, and the connections between the brain cells get damaged.
One of the scariest things about Alzheimer’s is that we don’t exactly know what causes it. It can run in families, so genes could play a part.
Age is also a big factor. The older you get, the more likely you are to develop the disease.
What’s tricky about Alzheimer’s is that it starts slowly. People with Alzheimer’s first experience mild confusion and difficulty remembering things.
Over time, these symptoms get worse, leading to severe memory loss and even difficulty speaking, swallowing, or walking.
The Memory Protein
Now, let’s go back to the discovery. A group of scientists at Johns Hopkins Medicine has found a new clue about Alzheimer’s disease.
They’ve been studying a protein, a kind of molecule in our bodies that does many different jobs. This particular protein is called NPTX2 and is linked to learning and memory in mice.
The scientists found that low levels of this protein in the fluid around the spinal cord could predict if a person would develop mild cognitive impairment or MCI.
MCI is a condition where people have more memory problems than normal for their age, but they can still do their everyday activities.
Many people with MCI go on to develop Alzheimer’s disease, so it’s seen as an early sign of the disease.
The surprising thing about this discovery is that low levels of the NPTX2 protein can predict MCI many years before any symptoms appear.
A Hopeful Discovery
Imagine this: if your doctor could tell you that you’re likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease in a few years, you might be scared. But this could also be a chance to do something about it.
If we knew who was likely to get the disease, we could try to slow it down or even stop it before it gets worse. That’s why this discovery is so hopeful.
The scientists studied more than 250 adults, most of whom had a family history of Alzheimer’s disease. They took samples of the fluid around their spinal cords and measured the level of the NPTX2 protein.
What they found was that those who later developed MCI had a lower level of the protein years before any symptoms showed up.
What’s more, the level of the NPTX2 protein was still a good predictor of MCI even after considering other risk factors, like the person’s age and whether they had any genes linked to Alzheimer’s disease.
What’s Next?
This is exciting news, but we’re not there yet. The test for the NPTX2 protein isn’t something that doctors can do routinely. It’s also not clear what causes the level of the protein to go down.
Could it be genes, or something in our lifestyle, or a combination of both? We need more research to answer these questions.
And even though most of the people in this study were white, Alzheimer’s disease affects people of all races.
We need to do more studies with people from different backgrounds to see if this discovery applies to everyone.
Still, this is a big step forward in our fight against Alzheimer’s disease. It gives us a new direction in finding ways to predict, prevent, and hopefully, one day cure this devastating disease.
As we continue to unravel the mysteries of Alzheimer’s, we’re getting closer to a future where no one has to suffer from this disease.
If you care about brain health, please read studies about Vitamin D deficiency linked to Alzheimer’s, and vascular dementia, and Oral cannabis extract may help reduce Alzheimer’s symptoms.
For more information about brain health, please see recent studies about Vitamin B9 deficiency linked to higher dementia risk, and results showing flavonoid-rich foods could improve survival in Parkinson’s disease.
The study was published in the Annals of Neurology.
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