Please take a moment to read Dr. Morgan's message and help us move the fight forward.
What causes Alzheimer's?
I can say that with confidence in part because scientists have reached a consensus during the past 20 years – the majority believes that the initiating factor for Alzheimer's disease is the accumulation of a substance called beta-amyloid. Amyloid deposits that build up in the spaces between nerve cells are called "plaques." Most people develop some plaques as they age, but those with Alzheimer's tend to develop far more.
For the past 20 years, my lab has focused most of its work on animal models, trying to identify ways to produce plaques in rats or mice. Because we've succeeded, we're now trying to develop effective treatments effective in mice that may translate into human clinical studies. We were one of first groups to show that a vaccine, using the amyloid peptide, could reduce amyloid in the brain and reverse memory loss.
While we found that the drugs worked well in mice, they didn't work well in people. We were treating the humans too late; by the time the first Alzheimer's symptoms appeared, human brains had all the amyloid they'll ever have. We're going to start testing drugs at an earlier stage, even before people show symptoms. New discoveries allow us to detect amyloid in the brain even before clinical symptoms appear. We'll start these tests this summer.
We need resources, not miracles
We don't need miracles to prevent this disease – what we need are the resources to complete these challenging and expensive clinical trials.
The analogy of Alzheimer's to AIDS is an interesting one: About 20 years ago, AIDS advocates launched a campaign to gain federal funding for research, and it worked. The amount of money put into AIDS research was incredible – about $3 billion to this day, which helped lead to effective treatments for the disease.
On the other hand, Alzheimer's has received significantly less federal funding than AIDS, yet it affects far more people and costs our nation 10 times as much. We've seen from the AIDS example that unevenness in funding can be overcome – and it can't come too soon.
During the last three or four years, there's no doubt in my mind we've made a lot of scientific progress in the fight against Alzheimer's. The pace has picked up and we're on the cusp of finding preventive therapies. It's a fascinating time to be a researcher in this field – and a promising one. |