Gene therapy is expected to treat Alzheimer's disease
Release date: 2016-10-12
British researchers said on October 10 that their mouse experiments showed that gene therapy may successfully treat Alzheimer's disease. However, experts stressed that whether this finding is applicable to humans requires further research.
The research results were published in the new issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Magdalena Sutter, of the Imperial College of Technology in London, said that they used a modified lentiviral vector to inject a gene called PGC1-α into the memory region of the mouse brain. Early symptoms of Alzheimer's disease begin to appear. The results show that this therapy prevents the accumulation of β-amyloid peptide in the brain of mice, which is thought to cause brain cell death and is closely related to the onset of Alzheimer's disease.
The researchers said that after 4 months of treatment with gene therapy, there were few Alzheimer's disease-labeled amyloid plaques in the brains of these mice. These treated mice performed as well as healthy mice in a task test on memory. In addition, brain cell loss was not found in their brain memory.
Saster said in a statement: "Although these findings are still at a very early stage, they show that gene therapy may have the potential to treat patients with Alzheimer's disease."
Shost stressed that there are still many difficulties that need to be overcome, but "this conceptual verification study shows that this approach deserves further exploration."
Some experts who did not participate in the study said that the study has important scientific value, but mice cannot be equated with humans, so they should be interpreted with caution. For example, Tara Spears-Jones, interim director of the Centre for Cognitive and Neurological Affairs at the University of Edinburgh in the UK, said the study was based on a small number of mice based on a disease model. "These results also require multiple models to be repeated, and many difficulties must be overcome to see if this therapy can be used in human patients."
Source: Xinhua News Agency
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