Alzheimer’s Findings Offer New Direction On When, How To Treat

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http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-07-11/alzheimer-s-findings-offer-new-direction-on-when-how-to-treat.html

In separate probes into the roots of Alzheimer’s, scientists have uncovered a rare gene mutation that keeps plaque from forming in the brain and found the disease may take hold 25 years before symptoms appear.
The DNA variant slows production of an enzyme called beta secretase-1 that helps form the hallmark brain tangles. The finding, reported in the journal Nature, supports the validity of drugs being developed by Merck & Co., Eli Lilly & Co. (LLY) and other companies designed to slow release of the enzyme, said Kari Stefansson, a report author.

The second study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, involved people with DNA that predisposed them to the disease before age 60. That research found changes in spinal fluid 25 years before symptoms began, and brain volume differences 15 years earlier. Together, the reports may lay groundwork allowing scientists to identify when it may be best to start treating patients and, perhaps, hold off the disease.
“These are steps on the pathway, really high-quality ones,” said William Thies, chief medical and scientific officer for the Chicago-based Alzheimer’s Association. Though the findings won’t lead directly to drugs and diagnostics, they may provide a foundation for them, he said.

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1. Alzheimer's 'early signs timeline developed'

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-18796309


Protein plaques in the brain indicate Alzheimer's disease

***SNIP

'Key changes'
The 128 people in the study, from the UK, US and Australia, had a 50% chance of inheriting one of three mutations that are certain to cause early Alzheimer's, which often develops in people's 30s and 40s - much earlier than the more common form of Alzheimer's which generally affects people in their 60s.

Those who carry the mutations will go on to develop the disease.

The researchers looked at the age the participants' parents were when they developed the disease - and therefore how many years it was likely to be before they too showed symptoms.