A possible cure for Alzheimer’s being researched in Sydney

Sydney (dpa) – It seems too good to be true: a treatment for the

brain-wasting disease Alzheimer’s that doctors could be prescribing

in just five years’ time.

But it is a prospect that researchers at Sydney University are

holding out to the 250,000 Australians who have contracted what is

the country’s most common form of dementia.

The scientists, working under Jurgen Gotz at the university’s

Brain and Mind Researcher Institute, claim the interaction of two

proteins in an otherwise healthy brain cell is the origin of

Alzheimer’s.

In experiments with mice, the team stopped the interaction by

introducing other proteins into brains cells through injections.

“We’ve shown we can prevent the development of Alzheimer’s and

that’s never been done before,” Gotz said. “The next step is to

develop compounds that are easier to administer, either orally or

intravenously. We could have treatments in five years because this is

targeting the underlying biology of the disease – not the symptoms.”

The research paper is published in the journal Cell.