Over the last several years, our understanding of Alzheimer’s disease has grown by a considerable amount. New research coming from Drexel University hopes to expand upon that understanding so that researchers can better treat the disease in the future.
Recently, researchers have found that as changes occur in the brain impacted by Alzheimer’s have issues with RNA replication and splicing. This current study hoped to find out just why this was. The study also operated under the assumption that brains that are facing this type of RNA issue are at a higher risk of Alzheimer’s disease than other brains.
They found that Tip60, a protein associated with RNA, might be the key to detecting Alzheimer’s. RNA and Tip60 bind together in a healthy brain, but when Alzheimer’s is present, this binding does not occur like it should. The study highlighted this as a potential course of treatment for those with Alzheimer’s or identified as being at risk of the disease. The hope is that this could be a launching point for other research projects in the future. They believe that fixing this issue could potentially help to slow down the spread of Alzheimer’s in the human brain.
There’s no cure for Alzheimer’s disease, unfortunately. It is a degenerative disease and eventually, the person that suffers from it will pass away from it. There are treatments that can be administered to lessen the severity of symptoms and enhance the quality of life that someone with Alzheimer’s is experiencing, but there’s no cure that can make it go away. Eventually, the disease will advance to the point where the individual dies.
This step forward in research doesn’t provide us with a cure, but it could potentially help us to understand the disease a little bit better, and perhaps provide doctors with a more effective treatment method in the future. Hopefully, this is a step forward that will lead to even better outcomes for those with Alzheimer’s moving into the future.
The research team published their findings in The Journal of Neuroscience. There’s a lot more research needed in this area, but hopefully this is research that helps future scientists to better understand the disease.
Helping a loved one that has Alzheimer’s disease is difficult. Watching someone that you love struggle with everyday tasks, their memory, and their ability to get around with the ease that they once experienced is tough. Helping them with their physical and emotional needs on top of all of this can be even tougher for many family members.
Bringing in the help of a professional caregiver can help make this a little easier. Professional care is designed to lighten the load so that you can be a better family member, whatever that might look like for you and your family. Memory care can be administered in a wide variety of ways, including in the home.
We’re here if you have questions about memory care or anything else related to senior care. Please feel free to give us a call at your convenience.
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