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I was just reading today about a study which has finally been published this week. I'm sure everyone here is familiar with Alzheimer's. Its dementia with a twist - rather than just aging neurons and fading memory, Alzheimer patients deal with violence, hallucinations, motor skill problems, and finally death. The brain of an Alzheimer patient, unlike that of a person with simple dementia, is being overrun by small, tarry, plaque-like growths called amyloid plaques or proteins. Amyloid is a naturally occuring protein in the body. In this case, I beleive it is beta-amyloid which is deposited in the brain. Normally, it circulates and is carried out of our systems, never making a pitstop in our neurons. In the Alzheimer patients, it gathers over a period of about 10 years. Scientists have done everything to figure out how to remove them. A rather brutal method involved shunting the skulls of people with Alzheimer's and filling their heads with fresh spinal fluid. The thought was that, like changing the oil, it might cut down on amyloid plaque buildup. Nope. Then there was the Alzheimer vaccine. Inject a virus with amyloid protein, give the vaccination to a patient, and watch their immune system destroy all the amyloid proteins in their bodies. Nice idea, but it occurs naturally, and the patient's immune systems attacked their brains as well. Until now, the only accepted method for treating Alzheimers was giving patients acytelcholine reuptake inhibitors like Aricept. It prolongs their abilties, but it doesnt do a thing for the disease process.
In 1992, a young scientist proposed the idea that amyloid plaques might be gathering around some other substance already deposited in an Alzheimer patient's brain. His idea was that simple minerals/heavy metals in the body were not being excreted properly. He thought the culprits were zinc and copper. Unfortunately, his idea was hot on the heels of the excess aluminum theory which had burnt a couple of researchers, and he was pooh-poohed and ridiculed to death by the medical community. Pharmaceutical companies continued pouring billions of dollars into complex pills and vaccines. He continued doing research on his own, and won a grant from the NIH. His idea was that if he gave rats with beta-amyloid deposits an old antibiotic which leeches copper and zinc from their systems, it might reverse their condition. He tried it, and in his own words, it was "like drano for the brain". The rat's brains were like young brains again.
The drug used is Clioquinol. It is an old antibiotic developed by a Swiss pharmaceutical compnay in the 1930s to combat amoebic dysentery- a killer in the third world. It was outlawed in the 1970s becuase it caused blindness and paralysis in a Japanese fishing village being treated. The next step was to test the drug on humans....it was thought that the cause of the Japanese snafu had been the fact that it also leeches out vitamin B12. So last year, the human trials began. And along with Clioquinol, the patients were also given vitamin B12. The results were published this week, and they are astounding. People with Alzheimer's actually improved, and by something like 10 percent, I beleive. They didnt just hold steady for six months, as with Aricept - they regained cognition. More clinical trials are to follow, and I expect they will start working on other ways to remove zinc and copper. Everything the pharmaceutical giants could not do, this man did with a 70 year old antibiotic and a grant from the NIH for 750,000 dollars. Thats cheap in the world of research. This is the real deal. I expected Alzheimer's to be cured in my lifetime, but not in this decade. Its one of the last non-preventable diseases. We didnt know what caused it, couldnt guess who would get it or treat them when they did. This will save thousands upon thousands of people from slowly fading away and losing their minds. It will save their families agony. If they can do this, imagine what awaits in the mental health field?
Peace
Homeskooled 8)
PS- I'm not sure if it is in the final phases of testing or not. I remember reading about it in 2003, but I hadnt heard anything new until this week.
In 1992, a young scientist proposed the idea that amyloid plaques might be gathering around some other substance already deposited in an Alzheimer patient's brain. His idea was that simple minerals/heavy metals in the body were not being excreted properly. He thought the culprits were zinc and copper. Unfortunately, his idea was hot on the heels of the excess aluminum theory which had burnt a couple of researchers, and he was pooh-poohed and ridiculed to death by the medical community. Pharmaceutical companies continued pouring billions of dollars into complex pills and vaccines. He continued doing research on his own, and won a grant from the NIH. His idea was that if he gave rats with beta-amyloid deposits an old antibiotic which leeches copper and zinc from their systems, it might reverse their condition. He tried it, and in his own words, it was "like drano for the brain". The rat's brains were like young brains again.
The drug used is Clioquinol. It is an old antibiotic developed by a Swiss pharmaceutical compnay in the 1930s to combat amoebic dysentery- a killer in the third world. It was outlawed in the 1970s becuase it caused blindness and paralysis in a Japanese fishing village being treated. The next step was to test the drug on humans....it was thought that the cause of the Japanese snafu had been the fact that it also leeches out vitamin B12. So last year, the human trials began. And along with Clioquinol, the patients were also given vitamin B12. The results were published this week, and they are astounding. People with Alzheimer's actually improved, and by something like 10 percent, I beleive. They didnt just hold steady for six months, as with Aricept - they regained cognition. More clinical trials are to follow, and I expect they will start working on other ways to remove zinc and copper. Everything the pharmaceutical giants could not do, this man did with a 70 year old antibiotic and a grant from the NIH for 750,000 dollars. Thats cheap in the world of research. This is the real deal. I expected Alzheimer's to be cured in my lifetime, but not in this decade. Its one of the last non-preventable diseases. We didnt know what caused it, couldnt guess who would get it or treat them when they did. This will save thousands upon thousands of people from slowly fading away and losing their minds. It will save their families agony. If they can do this, imagine what awaits in the mental health field?
Peace
Homeskooled 8)
PS- I'm not sure if it is in the final phases of testing or not. I remember reading about it in 2003, but I hadnt heard anything new until this week.
