A New Test And Treatment For Alzheimer’s Disease
Alzheimer’s 1 disease is a deadly neurodegenerative
disorder and there’s no cure for it. However, scientists appear
to have found a compound that could be used to develop a drug
4 for treating patients with Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s,
Huntington’s and other disorders.
As you might know, when a brain cell is hijacked by
7 a virus, the result is the building up of viral proteins. The cells
defend by stopping almost all protein production to make sure
that the virus doesn’t spread.
10 The same defense mechanism is started by many
neurodegenerative disorders which involve the production of
“faulty” proteins. But the cells shut down the production of
13 proteins for so long that they die due to hunger. This
mechanism can lead to the death of neurons throughout the
brain, resulting in movement or memory problems or can even
16 be fatal depending on the disorder.
The compound that was used by the scientists
prevented the defense mechanisms from being activated, so
19 there was no neurodegeneration. When the compound was used
on mice, it prevented all neuron death from prion disease.
Of course, more research is required on the compound
22 before a drug can be developed for use on humans, but this
certainly seems to be a good start.
According to Prof. Roger Morris, from King’s College London,
25 “This finding, I suspect, will be judged by history as
a turning point in the search for medicines to control and
prevent Alzheimer’s disease”.
Internet: <www.mobilemag.com> (adapted).
The word “they” in the excerpt “But the cells shut down the production of proteins for so long that they die due to hunger.” (l.12-13) refers to
