Current discoveries and promising studies
Dementia – a widespread disease that cannot yet be cured. According to current figures from the German Alzheimer’s Association, around 1.6 million people in Germany live with the disease. Worldwide, there are almost 47 million sufferers. Without progress in treatment and prevention, the annual report of „Alzheimer’s Disease International“ expects the number of people with dementia to almost double. To prevent this, researchers around the world are searching for a cure. Recent advances in dementia research and hopeful studies can be found below.
Findings on proteins: clots as new prime suspects
For years, it has been observed that dementia patients tend to have protein deposits in their brains. However, it is still unclear where these deposits come from and under what conditions they develop. However, the new main suspect for the disease is now no longer the deposits themselves. Researchers have recently begun to take a closer look at smaller clumps of proteins known as oligomers.
A component of the oligomers is the peptide amyloid-beta, which in itself occurs in every body and is not harmful. It is only when metabolic disorders occur in the brain that the peptide forms toxic oligomers, which are suspected of being a trigger for dementia. Last summer, researchers at Heinrich Heine University in Düsseldorf and the Jülich Research Center were able to determine that oligomers multiply 8,000 times faster in a slightly acidic environment than at a neutral pH. In the body, the slightly acidic pH can be found in certain substructures of cells, so-called endo- and lysosomes. According to Wolfgang Hoyer of Heinrich Heine University, these findings can confirm that endosomes and lysosomes are sites where oligomers are formed.
The study of the protein clumps also reveals other discoveries. Researchers also suspect that the tau protein is responsible for disease progression. If this protein is now combined with the oligomers, a protein maldistribution of the tau protein occurs in the nerve cell. The consequences of the incorrect distribution in the body are loss of function of the nerve cells and cognitive impairment in those affected. This is an important finding for developers of diagnostic and therapeutic strategies that deal with proteins.
Blood tests: Neurofilament as a potential biomarker?
In addition to the proteins mentioned above, neurofilament, an important component of neurons, is suspected to be a biomarker for dementia. Researchers have been detecting these biomarkers in neural fluid for years. In the summer of 2021, the first blood test for Alzheimer’s could be approved on the market. „Precivity AD-Bloodtest“ is the name of the innovation, which for the time being may only be used by researchers for scientific studies in Europe. This allows research institutes to test biomarkers previously abstracted from cerebrospinal fluid in a simple, non-hazardous way in blood. The new possibility potentially leads to more test subjects and thus to innovative findings about biomarkers for dementia in the blood.
AlzBiom study: gut flora and dementia?
It has been known for years that in many cases the intestine determines the health of the body. In the case of diseases such as obesity, blood pressure disorders and diabetes, it is already common to look at the intestinal flora for treatment. Now, the University Hospital of Tübingen, among others, is investigating the connection between the gut microbiome and the widespread disease dementia. The aim of the study, called „AlzBiom„, is to identify commonalities as well as differences in subjects with healthy and unhealthy intestinal flora in relation to dementia. If the study is successful, the results can be used to develop new forms of therapy against the disease.
Drug trials: With active substances against dementia?
The search for a suitable drug against dementia is nothing new – but so far unsuccessful. The annual report of the „Alzeimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation“ from 2021 states that 126 active ingredients are currently in clinical trials.
One example is vorinostat, which is currently being clinically tested in a study conducted in collaboration between the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases in Bonn and the memory outpatient clinic of the University Medical Center Göttingen. The active ingredient is already approved for T-cell lymphomas on the skin. Now the drug will be tested over two years in 44 people with mild dementia. The aim is to find a tolerable dose of the active ingredient, which has been shown in animal studies to improve memory. If successful, the drug could be approved in the next few years to fight dementia symptoms.
Aducanumab was also close to approval at the end of 2021. This is an active ingredient that targets the protein beta-amyloid, which causes dementia. In the USA, patients can already purchase the drug under certain conditions. In Germany, however, approval failed in December 2021. Aducanumab has proven in studies to be effective against the protein deposits in the brains of patients with dementia. Unfortunately, however, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) has identified serious side effects such as brain swelling and has therefore refused to launch the active ingredient, which goes by the trade name Aduhelm.
NeuroMET 2 study: early diagnosis through high-resolution MRI?
Magnetic resonance imaging, or MRIs, are a proven non-surgical way to take a closer look at the human brain. The NeuroMET 2 study currently aims to detect neurodegenerative diseases at an early stage using a 7T MRI. 7T, seven tesla, stands for the magnetic field strength of the device and is thus twice as strong as conventional MRIs. Accordingly, the device’s images are more detailed and high-resolution. The success of the study, which aims to develop methods for early diagnosis and enable effective therapies for sufferers, could lead the way for early detection of the disease.
Cognitive testing: tablets for early detection?
With the progression of dementia come increasing impairments in memory, cognitive abilities and mental performance. The University Hospital of Tübingen is currently using tablet-based tests to research indicators for early detection of the disease. In the process, the researchers are observing the motor skills of participants in various stages of dementia during handwriting and drawing tasks on a tablet. The quality, automation, and accuracy of the movements are the focus of the study. Successful data collection of motor skills from a wide range of dementia stages could provide a simple way of early detection suitable for everyday use in the future.
