Scientists have identified a potential non-invasive therapy i.e reducing the amount of toxic protein which, they said when aggregate is the main cause of neuro cell death causing Alzheimer’s disease.
These proteins are also present in the blood, and according to this expert of the UMA they are in equilibrium with the brain –if they increase in the brain, they increase in the blood, and vice versa. Based on these results, Moreno proposes removing these toxic aggregates as a target for Alzheimer’s disease therapy. The paper was published by the scientific journal Molecular Psychiatry, which belongs to the Nature Group.
“Removing the toxic proteins from the brain is the goal of most of the current therapies for Alzheimer’s disease”, explained scientist of the UMA, Inés Moreno, in collaboration with the University of Texas,of the UMA group “NeuroAD”.
“We have verified that if we remove toxins from the blood, they drain again from the brain to blood in search of equilibrium, improving the clinical signs and pathology of the disease”, says Moreno.
This finding “opens the door to potential non-invasive therapeutic strategies to be implemented at a circulatory level”.
“The study holds importance for India too given that Alzheimer’s disease is not only a health issue but also is a social problem as patients suffering from Alzheimer’s are converted to dementia patients within five years after which they cannot care for themselves,” said Dr RP Parasher, Medical Superintendent of the Panchkarma hospital, Prashant Vihar in Delhi.
Dr Prashar suggested that people suffering from respiratory diseases, cardiovascular diseases and psychosomatic disorders can be treated by adopting a holistic approach including ayurvedic medicines, Panchkarma therapy, yoga, counselling and psychotherapy.
“We have Ayush Post Covid Care Centre at the Panchkarma hospital which was started in July last year. Ayurvedic medicines like Ashwagandha, Jatamansi, Brahami, Mandukparni, Shankhpushpi, Turmeric, Tulsi, Giloy, Smriti Sagar Ras, Yogender Ras, etc. are quite effective to treat Alzheimer’s and Dementia,” he said, adding that recently they held a five-day camp for the treatment of the neurodegenerative
disease.
At present more than 24 million people are suffering from Alzheimer’s around the world out of which 6.1 million are in India alone. Cases of Alzheimer’s are expected to increase threefold by 2050. People over the age of 60 years will contribute to 19% of the Indian population as reported by Dementia India Report.
Obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, smoking, and alcohol consumption are among the main factors responsible for developing Alzheimer’s disease besides the genetic coding.