Alzheimer's And The Revolutinary Drug

Our memory is like a life-line. The list of things to do depends on our memory. We often come through people (especially old age) who are struggling with their memory. It feels as if the pictures, stories, incidents, moments have vanished from their brain. When my grandma was in her 70's we noticed some unusual change related to her memory. She used to forget things very often, mumbling words and telling stories that never happened. We never used to leave her alone because of the memory-loss symptoms. There wasn't much awareness about Alzheimer's at that time. The adults believed that these are old age factors and it has no cure but the medical science proves it wrong. May Allah rest her soul in peace. By the time I did my research on Alzheimer's, it was too late for her.
Unlike other incurable diseases, Alzheimer's disease is one whose exact cause is unknown. It's a disease that gradually eats our brain. It affects memory, thoughts, and language. There is no such specific age for this disease either young or old you may get affected. The probability of aged people getting affected by Alzheimer's is at high stake!

The example of amyloid plaques is just like a sticky gum. When a gum binds to a surface it needs to be scratched out immediately because if the gum dries then it's almost impossible to scratch it out. Similarly, if the plaques are not eliminated initially before their accumulation then it can cause further damage by the addition of tau tangles.

As neurons begin to die and beta-amyloid aggregates plaques surround the nerve cells. These plaques block the synapses between nerve cells. Thus destroying the cellular communication pathway.

Amyloid proteins are present throughout our body, therefore, it is not necessary that amyloid proteins of the brain only contribute to the AD. The parabiosis experiment verified that the amyloid proteins produced outside the brain also contribute to the AD. Older people aging mostly above 60 are mostly a victim of the AD. Because as we grow old the Blood-Brain Barrier weakens. So amyloid proteins can pass through the brain protective membrane crossing the blood-brain barrier.

Tau is a protein which stabilizes and binds to the microtubules. The microtubule is an important structure inside the neurons. It transports nutrients from one cell body to another. Unfortunately, some chemical changes cause the tau protein to detach from the microtubule. As this happens the thread-like structures bind to each other forming tangles. The aggregation of amyloid plaques gives rise to the formation of tau tangles.

God has been really kind while designing our body as each and every part of our body has a purpose and protector. Therefore we shall never forget to be grateful to Almighty Allah.

Our immune system consists of guard cells that protect our body from any kind of harm. Our brain consists of microglial cells as its protecting guard. These cells keep our brain clean from toxicity, infections, and bacteria.

The inflammation is triggered when the microglial cells get activated because of the unwanted amyloid plaques. They keep targeting the invader but fail to eradicate them. In between the fight inflammatory chemicals are released due to which the healthy brain cells are also affected. The tussle further increases the production of amyloid by the activity of enzyme BACE1. Moreover, the TREM2 gene fails to function in Alzheimer's brain whose function is to stimulate the glial cells when invaders attack our brain.

Research is looking forward to designing drugs that can reduce the aggressive action of microglial cells and eliminate plaques before their accumulation.

Scientists are still determined to find many answers like why gene stops functioning? Why do glial cells fail to clear out the plaques? How to stop glial cells from producing toxic chemicals?

Currently, the animal models and human studies are being helpful to understand the interaction between immune reactions and Alzheimer's disease. The research in this area is giving hope to get more positive results within the upcoming years

Aducanumab has done some wonders for this disease. The drug is designed by Biogen and Neurimmune.` It has been a successful treatment until now as it breaks down the established plaques.

PET( Positron Emission Tomography) scan has been helpful to doctors in tracing the changes of the brain. Doctors can verify the brain size and test the drug results through this technique. So it has become quite easy to verify the results of aducanumab through the latest technology.

The drug Aducanumab is not expected to completely vanish the damage caused by the AD. But till yet it has been tested to stop the disease from progressing which is the biggest goal so far.

With many positive attributes of aducanumab, there are some side effects as well. Scientists say that there is still a lot to be discovered about this drug. Brain swelling and bleeding were seen in patients taking a high dose of aducanumab. Considering these side effects some more clinical trials are being conducted including patients worldwide having an early stage of Alzheimer's. In these trials, patients are given a dose for more than 12 months to evaluate the progression of aducanumab in cognitive decline and functional impairment.

Scientists have suggested some very simple activities to adopt in your daily life so as to keep your brain healthy. I guess the below images are very clear to understand and do not need any further explanation.

Every disease has a cure and every drug has an effect. Nonetheless, your prayers can do wonders. Allah is merciful and all our prayers are going to be answered sooner or later. So never be hopeless. Stay positive and think positive!