{"id":629,"date":"2024-06-23T09:40:13","date_gmt":"2024-06-23T09:40:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/forefrontnews.cn\/?p=629"},"modified":"2024-06-23T09:41:00","modified_gmt":"2024-06-23T09:41:00","slug":"in-alzheimers-breakthrough-researchers-identify-protective-gene-that-delays-disease-in-high-risk-family","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/forefrontnews.cn\/?p=629","title":{"rendered":"In Alzheimer\u2019s breakthrough, researchers identify \u2018protective gene\u2019 that delays disease in high-risk family"},"content":{"rendered":"

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A significant Alzheimer\u2019s study sheds new light on a protective gene that appears to delay the disease in those destined to develop it.\u00a0(iStock)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

On average, they developed signs of Alzheimer\u2019s five years later than those who did not have the variant, the researchers found.<\/p>\n

By comparison, the drugs currently available for Alzheimer\u2019s slow the disease’s progression by only around six months.<\/p>\n

The study findings, published Wednesday in The New England Journal of Medicine, could have important implications for drug development.<\/p>\n

\u2018REVERSING\u2019 ALZHEIMER\u2019S: HERE ARE EXERCISES TO MAKE THE BRAIN MORE RESILIENT<\/u><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

This is a follow-up to a 2019 study in which a woman from the same family who had two copies of the protective APOE3 Christchurch variant did not experience any disease symptoms until\u00a0her 70s<\/u><\/a>\u00a0\u2014 decades later than the average age of onset, 44.<\/p>\n

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Joseph F. Arboleda-Velasquez, M.D., PhD, an associate scientist at Mass Eye and Ear who worked on the study, is originally from Colombia, where he spent years studying that woman\u2019s case as part of his medical training.<\/p>\n

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Imaging scans showed reduced signs of tau and amyloid plaques, the proteins that build up in the brains of Alzheimer\u2019s patients.\u00a0(iStock)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

“It really took the world by storm, the Colombian woman who beat Alzheimer’s \u2014 it was an amazing discovery,” he told Fox News Digital.<\/p>\n

“But also, we had to be very careful. Was it really true? Could it be reproduced? It would be amazing if we could\u00a0develop treatments<\/u><\/a>\u00a0that replicate the effect of the Christchurch variant, but we didn\u2019t have enough evidence.”<\/p>\n

EXPERIMENTAL ALZHEIMER\u2019S DRUG GETS FDA ADVISORY PANEL’S THUMBS-UP: \u2018PROGRESS IS HAPPENING\u2019<\/u><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

“So, back then, we started this very extensive project of trying to find more individuals who also had Christchurch to see if they were also protected.”<\/p>\n

In this latest study, researchers analyzed 1,077 descendants of the Colombian family, narrowing the focus to the 27 people who carried both the Paisa mutation and one copy of the protective Christchurch variant.<\/p>\n

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“This could really transform lives \u2014 not just of the individual, but at the population level.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

On average, these 27 family members began showing signs of cognitive impairment at age 52 \u2014 compared to age 47 for those without the Christchurch variant.<\/p>\n

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For two of the individuals, imaging scans showed reduced signs of tau and amyloid plaques, the proteins that build up in the brains of Alzheimer\u2019s patients, the press release stated.<\/p>\n

While the original woman might have been dismissed as a “one-time wonder,” said Arboleda-Velasquez, this\u00a0new study<\/u><\/a>\u00a0provides more evidence that could help support building a drug development program.<\/p>\n

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A doctor points out evidence of Alzheimer\u2019s disease on PET scans at the Center for Alzheimer Research and Treatment at Brigham And Women\u2019s Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts.\u00a0\u00a0(REUTERS\/Brian Snyder\/File Photo)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

“Now, instead of one person, we have 27 more men and women \u2014 some who work, some who are retired, some in rural areas, some in the city \u2014 who all have the Christchurch variant and are all protected,” he said.<\/p>\n

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“And now we can move forward with trying to develop therapies that do exactly the same thing.”<\/p>\n

He added, “This could really transform lives \u2014 not just of the individual, but at the population level.”<\/p>\n

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Nearly seven million people in the U.S. are living with Alzheimer’s.\u00a0(iStock)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Courtney Kloske, PhD, director of scientific engagement at the Alzheimer\u2019s Association in Chicago, Illinois, was not involved in the study but offered her reaction.<\/p>\n

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“This study is helping to expand our knowledge about the disease and potentially identify new therapeutic targets,” she told Fox News Digital.<\/p>\n

“<\/strong><\/i>We hope that the delay in symptom onset and beneficial effects on disease-related brain changes shown in this small, but potentially important, study in this unique population can be confirmed in larger, more diverse study groups \u2026 and that it will eventually translate into treatment advances for the broader population of people affected by Alzheimer\u2019s and all other dementia.”<\/p>\n

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP<\/u><\/strong><\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

The study did have some limitations, the researchers acknowledged.<\/p>\n

It analyzed a relatively small number of people carrying both the Paisa and Christchurch variants, all belonging to a single (albeit large) family.<\/p>\n

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  A significant Alzheimer\u2019s study sheds new light on a protective gene that appears to delay the disease in those destined to develop it.\u00a0(iStock) On average, they developed signs of… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":631,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[260,262],"tags":[280,281,282],"views":468,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/forefrontnews.cn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/629"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/forefrontnews.cn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/forefrontnews.cn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/forefrontnews.cn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/forefrontnews.cn\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=629"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/forefrontnews.cn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/629\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":637,"href":"http:\/\/forefrontnews.cn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/629\/revisions\/637"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/forefrontnews.cn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/631"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/forefrontnews.cn\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=629"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/forefrontnews.cn\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=629"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/forefrontnews.cn\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=629"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}