In the United States, one in ten people age 65 and older currently has Alzheimer’s disease or other types of dementia. Changes in the brain due to these cognitive diseases can begin several years before any symptoms actually start to appear, so getting a diagnosis and starting treatment early is important. Fortunately, there’s good news as far as treatment for Alzheimer’s goes. Researchers at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center say that an experimental vaccine that could hold off Alzheimer’s disease showed promise during recent tests.
As reported in the journal Alzheimer’s Research & Therapy, researchers were able to test the drug on mice with the results being that it safely prevented the buildup of the proteins in the brain that are associated with Alzheimer’s disease. After successful research on both rabbits and monkeys as well, scientists are hopeful that they will soon be able to conduct human trials of the vaccine.
This is a huge breakthrough for both the medical and senior communities. The current types of available drug treatments for Alzheimer’s and dementia only focus on improving the symptoms of the diseases. Every new drug trial and potential treatment against the disease is vitally important in the goal of curing the disease entirely.
