Breakthrough for Alzheimer's sufferers in Australia
There’s new hope for Alzheimer’s sufferers in Australia, as hospitals in Melbourne and Queensland announce trials of a breakthrough drug that reverses memory loss.
The drug, known as CT18-12, has already been trialled on mice in the US and been found to stop the progression and even reverse the effects of memory loss by targeting brain cell receptors. In some cases, researchers saw continued improvement of memory.
Austin Hospital Associate Professor, Michael Woodward, who is leading the research told SBS News, “We think we'll actually neutralise the effect of amyloid clusters. Amyloid is the nasty protein that gives you the symptoms of Alzheimer's disease. It destroys the nerve cells that are important for memory, for thinking.
“We know from human brain cell studies, that this drug is doing exactly what we want it to do. It’s stopping the amyloid clusters binding to the brain cells, it’s stopping the nasty, toxic effects of those amyloid clusters.”
Australia is one of the first countries to announce human trials of the drug, with two hospitals in Melbourne and one on the Gold Coast already looking for patients aged between 50 and 80 to be part of the trial.
Alzheimer’s is fast becoming a pressing issue for the community. More than 350,000 people currently live with the disease in Australia and if no advances are made that number is projected to hit one million by the year 2050.
What do you make of this research? Have you ever seen the harrowing effects of Alzheimer’s up close? Let us know in the comments section below.
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