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Medicine Science

Experimental Drug Compound Found To Reverse Effects of Alzheimer's In Mice 105

Zothecula (1870348) writes "While there has been progress made in the fight against Alzheimer's, our understanding of the dispiriting disease remains somewhat limited, with a definitive cure yet to be found. The latest development comes at the hands of researchers from Yale's School of Medicine, who have discovered a new drug compound shown to reverse the effects of Alzheimer's in mice."
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Experimental Drug Compound Found To Reverse Effects of Alzheimer's In Mice

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  • by Albanach ( 527650 ) on Saturday August 09, 2014 @04:14PM (#47638889) Homepage

    All we need now is a drug to turn humans into mice.

  • by Opportunist ( 166417 ) on Saturday August 09, 2014 @04:15PM (#47638897)

    If I read that correctly (yeah, I RTFA) what that stuff does is facilitate the transfer of short term into long term memory.

    Forget Alzheimer (please, no lame puns here), every student on this planet will want that stuff. I sure know I would've killed to get that shit to stuff all that nonsensical crap into my brain that I had to learn for a few tests that were about as interesting as watching the carpet warp during hot Summers.

    • by Anonymous Coward

      Also if you RTFA look at figure S2, there are many strange things going on. In fig S2C there are bands that look too similar. In fig S2D there are some that don't match with thier quantification (eg 3mg/kg TC has clearly reduced GLuN2B phosphorylation but this does not show up in their quantification shown in figure 2D). It looks like there are serious problems with this study. I am sure if I look closer there will be more oddities.

    • Mayne will be reading this as saying 'there's a way cure Alzheimer'; actually it isn't a cure, it just covers up some of the symptoms of the still progressing disease. This is comparable to painkillers - they take away some of the pain, which is good, but the underlying cause is still there; not a problem if you have a passing headache, but it can be much more serious if it is something that slowly gets worse, like an infected tooth, a slipped disc - or cancer.

  • life imitates art?
  • by EvilSS ( 557649 ) on Saturday August 09, 2014 @05:00PM (#47639059)
    With so many advancements and near miraculous treatments being discovered almost daily it's never been a better time to be a mouse!
    • Only if you're a mouse suffering from terminal depression. All lab mice are euthanized whether tests are successful or not.
      • All lab mice are euthanized whether tests are successful or not.

        All humans die whether they were successful or not. (With the possible exception of those who signed up for cryonics.)

  • A mouse looked so stupid walking around and around in circles looking for the car keys.

    An older mouse was screaming at the cheese "Do I know you?" in a mousey voice...

    It was totally embarrassing.
  • You can always tell an article is based on junk science when it contains the words "Alzheimer's," "cancer," or "AIDS." I'd bet my last cent at least two of the researchers involved in this are implicated in fakery by next week.
  • Comment removed based on user account deletion
    • Comment removed based on user account deletion
    • All kidding aside, I hope some headway is made in this field.

      I think we all hope in this, regardless of our age. And, unless we destroy ourselves in some nice world war, or unless science will be oficially banned on religious grounds, the cure will be found. Alzheimer's is no magic, there is some underlying cause, and when we find it, we will find a way to block it, although it can be technically challenging.

      I personally think (but this is just a guess) that we will have to learn pretty much details of neuronal functions at the lowest biochemical level, and also abou

  • Are you thinking what I'm thinking?

    Alternatively, is the mouse named Caesar?

  • by Antique Geekmeister ( 740220 ) on Saturday August 09, 2014 @10:44PM (#47640301)

    Let's hope that this treatment works well, and is approved for human use quickly. Terry Pratchett's abilities to tie fascinating details of human experience, knowledge, and even science into an entertaining and educational story is an incredible loss to the world. Even if you only recovers enough to enjoy the well-earned adulation of his fans, the chance to thank him personally for his work is worth significant medical research.

    I understand he particularly likes banana daiquiris.

    • It's interesting you bring this up, because Terry has lobbied quite a lot for permission to commit assisted suicide due to his affliction. Will he/we thank those people who prevented him from doing so if they do come up with a cure?

      • I suspect that Mr. Pratchett would be somewhat grateful, though finely appreciative of any irony, if he's still in condition to do so. A lot of his stories contain tough choices, and struggles with amazing burdens. If he decides to go this way, I hope someone can find an orangutang to hand him a book to read to sleep.

  • All this drug does it improve the conversion of short-term memory to long-term memory. This is a problem in patients suffering from Alzheimer's but no way can it regain memory stored in neurons already lost to Alzheimer's. I hope this treatment works, but it's not even clear it will stop the progression of the disease to it's ultimate conclusion.
  • Finally elderly mice will not have to fear this terrible disease.
  • If every time I read a story starting with "_______ reversed in mice!" it ended up being an actual advancement in medicine, by now we would be immortal [huffingtonpost.com] and immune to almost every disease.
  • A recent study has found low vitamin D levels associated with Alzheimer's disease, as well as a bunch of other ailments. It seems like modest daily supplementation with vitamin D3 might be a good idea if Alzheimer's runs in your family.

    https://www.yahoo.com/health/clear-link-found-between-vitamin-d-deficiency-and-94074543072.html

  • And every ten years Alzheimer's organisations say that they'll have a cure in ten years time. I see some correlation with that tactic and the general lifespan of Alzheimer's patients.
  • God damn beta and god damn tablet software keyboards

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