Although The Exact Causation Of Alzheimer’s Disease Is Unknown, The Amyloid Cascade Hypothesis May Provide A Better Explanation
Globally, 55 million individuals suffer from dementia, with Alzheimer’s disease being the most prevalent variety. Unfortunately, there is no treatment for the illness that steals memory. However, gantenerumab, an investigational medication, received a lot of hope.
Although the exact etiology of Alzheimer’s disease is unknown, the so-called amyloid cascade hypothesis is the most widely accepted theory.
The concept, which was put forth 30 years ago, described a sequence of circumstances leading up to Alzheimer’s disease.
The notion was based on alterations in Alzheimer’s patient’s brains as well as genetic data from families where the disease had been passed down through multiple generations.
The formation of tau protein tangles and plaques, two protein aggregates known as amyloid, were the changes they observed in the brain.
According to the theory, the development of amyloid plaques is what first causes the disease. After that, the plaques interact with blood vessels and other brain cells, disrupting their normal function, causing tangles, and finally killing neurons (brain cells).
As additional details about the biochemical mechanisms causing Alzheimer’s disease were learned during the past 30 years, experts have improved the idea. Therefore, it makes sense that medicine companies would concentrate on amyloid.
Opponents may counter that the amount of amyloid is insufficiently correlated with symptoms or that other alterations in the brain, such as tau tangles, are more closely associated with dementia symptoms and hence more legitimate targets.
There are now 172 research trials using 143 different medicines to treat Alzheimer’s. 119 of these are deemed to be disease-modifying medications.
In other words, rather than focusing solely on treating symptoms, they aim to alter the underlying biology to alter the course of the disease. Only 20 of the 119 drugs that treat the disease have amyloid as their main target.
The majority of scientists concur that there is no one cause of Alzheimer’s. It is known that each person with Alzheimer’s has a distinct symptom profile and the degree of underlying brain alterations varies, despite certain similarities.
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