People at high risk of developing Alzheimer's disease in the future may be able to delay the onset of the disease before they even display symptoms following a discovery by scientists at Trinity College Dublin.
The breakthrough sheds light on the behaviour of a protein in the brain which has long been suspected of having an influence in Alzheimer's.
The scientists determined that too much of the protein, known as amyloid beta, can reduce the ability of nerve cells in the brain to make the long-lasting connections necessary for the persistence of human memory.
Short-term memory loss has long been recognised as one of the earliest and most distressing symptoms of Alzheimer's but up to now nobody knew why.
The Trinity team have found they can control the amount of amyloid beta present in the brain by targeting the enzymes in its production. Other research teams around the world are developing methods of screening for high amyloid load - much like people are now tested for high cholesterol levels.
Ultimately, the Trinity discovery could mean people who are likely candidates for developing Alzheimer's could control their amyloid levels just as people at high risk of heart disease now have ways of controlling their cholesterol.
The Trinity research is a joint effort with scientists at Harvard Medical School who have been producing beta proteins for testing in Ireland. Their combined achievements are profiled in the current edition of the science journal, Nature, published today.
The Irish team is led by Prof Michael Rowan of Trinity's Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics and Prof Roger Anwyl of the Department of Physiology. Some 30,000 people in Ireland suffer from Alzheimer's disease.
