Scientists from the Australian University of Adelaide have made a breakthrough in the study of Alzheimer’s disease. They found out how this disease begins, depriving a person of memory.
Humanity has a hope to cope with one of the most insidious and merciless diseases – senile dementia. Australian researchers believe they have discovered exactly how this disease begins. And if their discovery is confirmed in the course of human studies, it will come to the aid of the aging population of the planet.
It has always been assumed that genes increase the danger of this condition by disrupting the mechanisms of cellular energy production and making a major contribution to the accumulation of toxic proteins in the brain. Researchers have studied how genetic mutations associated with the early onset of dementia affect zebra fish. Fish brain cells with characteristic DNA changes used less oxygen. This means that their brains were not able to produce enough energy for normal functioning. And similar studies on laboratory mice confirm this theory.
Now researchers are convinced that they have discovered a fundamental and early driver of Alzheimer’s disease in humans. Since energy production is the basis of cellular activity that supports all other brain functions, disruption of this process in such a highly active organ as the brain, without any doubt, leads to sad consequences. If science can understand what exactly is wrong with the use of oxygen and energy production, the disease can be stopped before it begins.
