Alzheimer’s experts believe that a life-changing treatment for the most common form of the disease will be found within 20 years.
A team from Cardiff University has now identified 92 genes that significantly increase the risk of Alzheimer’s, whereas only three genes were known when their research began in 2009.
Professor Julie Williams, director of the Cardiff Dementia Centre, said: “I think by 2040 we will be able to offer a range of treatments and we may not know exactly why, but one of them will be able to respond to the enormous variety of causes.’
Gene therapy and a better understanding of international studies are helping to increase expert knowledge of the disease – one of the leading killers of people over 50 in the UK.
Professor Williams, who received a CBE for her work, said: ‘Once you know where to start, you can study the effects of genes on specific brain activities.
Alzheimer’s experts believe a life-changing treatment for the most common form of the disease will be found within 20 years (stock image)
A team from Cardiff University has now identified 92 genes that significantly increase the risk of Alzheimer’s (archive image)
She has been dealing with Alzheimer’s disease for 30 years and said: “Things are getting faster and better. I have learned more in the last seven years than in the twenty years before.
“Tests that cost millions in the 1990s can be done for around £30.”
Advances in research have led experts to discover that microglial cells, known as the brain’s “garbage truck,” mistakenly kill healthy brain cells, including synapses.
Synapses are connections between neurons and when they are eliminated unnecessarily, it can cause a person to lose connections that create thoughts and memories.
But Professor Williams told the BBC that her study of thousands of cases had made her realize there would never be a smoking gun.
Instead, the disease should be viewed more as a heart condition with many contributing factors, and various therapies help to slow and prevent it.
Some drugs are already approved for use in other Alzheimer’s diseases and can be used within five years.
Professor Tara Spiers-Jones, a leading expert at the University of Edinburgh, told the Daily Mail last year that, possibly within a decade, a drug would be available to prevent memory problems from progressing beyond an initial mild confusion.
Some drugs are already approved for use in other Alzheimer’s diseases and could be used within five years (stock photo)
She said: “I hesitate to use the word cure, which is a very strong word, but I think within 10 years we will have a disease-modifying drug.
“This is a drug that can stop Alzheimer’s disease or even – although it is less likely – stop it once it has started.
“I know all these decades of research may seem daunting when there is still no cure for Alzheimer’s disease, but breakthrough miracle drugs have been found for other brain diseases, and one is coming for this one.”
Professor Spiers-Jones said neuroscience had achieved some major victories recently, including the discovery of Zolgensma, which is helping children with severe spinal muscular atrophy to crawl and walk for the first time.
The expert is particularly excited about research on the “Sigma 2 receptor,” found on brain cells that appears to attract clumps of a protein called amyloid beta, which is linked to Alzheimer’s disease.
Early research, involving just 19 people, suggests that a drug that blocks this process may prevent Alzheimer’s disease from progressing.
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Crystal Leahy is an author and health journalist who writes for The Fashion Vibes. With a background in health and wellness, Crystal has a passion for helping people live their best lives through healthy habits and lifestyles.
