Could gene therapy cure Alzheimer's?

The team also discovered there was no loss of brain cells in the hippocampus of the mice who received the gene treatment. In addition to this, the treated mice had a reduction in the number of glial cells, which in Alzheimer's disease can release toxic inflammatory substances that cause further cell damage. read more

Alzheimer's disease could be stopped by gene therapy, scientists discovered. Inserting a gene may prevent the formation of clumps of protein which are found in the brains of dementia sufferers, experts believe. The plaques - built up of amyloid-beta peptide - are thought to trigger the death of brain cells. read more

First, gene therapy techniques would need to improve to the point that many of the cells in the brain could be reached by the gene therapy vector and could then maintain expression of the altered gene for many years. read more

A genetic treatment that delivers a virus to a gene in the brain could be used treat early-stage Alzheimer's disease, says research published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. read more