Alzheimer's disease is triggered by a build-up of harmful proteins in the brain.
In a possible breakthrough,... South Korean researchers have may found a key to treat and prevent the disease... by regulating immune cells in the brain.
Park Se-young has more.
Alzheimer's disease accounts for roughly 70 percent of all people with dementia.
No cure has yet been found for the disease, which is linked to protein accumulation in the neurons.
Korean researchers have shifted their focus to a type of immune cell in the brain,…known as microglia,… which breaks down abnormal proteins inside the brain.
When exposed to stimulus from harmful material, microglia quickly produces energy and disintegrates the target.
However,... the build-up of toxic materials in the brains of Alzheimer's patients… slows the energy production of microglia.
Eventually, the microglia becomes unable to move to and destroy harmful materials.
"If microglia activity is at 100 in the early stage of stimulus from harmful materials or from outside, we found that its function after chronic exposure drops to as low as 30 percent."
The researchers also found that artificially injecting a substance into the less functional cell... restores its function to the normal range.
These new findings could open the door to an eventual cure and more effective preventative measures for Alzheimer's disease.
Park Se-young, Arirang News.
