Professor Giovanna Mallucci says the hope is to arrest the process of brain cell death

Professor Giovanna Mallucci says the hope is to arrest the process of brain cell death

The discovery of the at the outset element to prevent the death of brain tissue in a neurodegenerative disease has been hailed as the "turning point" in the fight aligned with Alzheimer's disease.

Added product is desirable to develop a drug so as to possibly will be taken by patients.

But scientists say a resultant medicine possibly will talk of Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, Huntington's and other diseases.

Modish tests on mice, the Medical Research Council showed all brain cell death from prion disease possibly will be prevented.

Prof Roger Morris, from King's College London, thought: "This result, I suspect, will be judged by history as a whirling meaning in the search in support of medicines to control and prevent Alzheimer's disease."

He told the BBC a medicine in support of Alzheimer's was not imminent but: "I'm very excited, it's the at the outset verification in one living monster so as to you can delay neurodegeneration.

"The humanity won't amend tomorrow, but this is a sign study."
Cells starve

The exploration team by the side of the Medical Research Council Toxicology Unit, based by the side of the University of Leicester, alert on the natural defence mechanisms built into brain cells.

When a virus hijacks a brain cell it leads to a build-up of viral proteins. Cells respond by shutting down just about all protein production in order to halt the virus's extend.

However, many neurodegenerative diseases include the production of faulty or "misfolded" proteins. These activate the same defences, but with more Spartan penalty.

The misfolded proteins linger and the brain cells close up down protein production in support of so long so as to they eventually starve themselves to death.

This process, continual in neurons the whole time the brain, can finish movement or remembrance or even exterminate, depending on the disease.

This process is accepted wisdom to take place in many forms of neurodegeneration, so safely disrupting it possibly will talk of a eclectic range of diseases.

The researchers used a compound which prevented individuals defence mechanisms kicking in and in favor halted neurodegeneration.

The study, in print in Science Translational Medicine, showed mice with prion disease residential Spartan remembrance and movement problems. They died inside 12 weeks.

However, individuals prearranged the compound showed nix sign of brain tissue wasting away.

Lead researcher Prof Giovanna Mallucci told the BBC news website: "They were utterly fine, it was extraordinary.

"What's really exciting is a compound has completely prevented neurodegeneration and that's a at the outset.

"This isn't the compound you would service in frequent, but it capital we can act it and it's a start."

She thought the compound open a "new pathway so as to might well break shielding drugs" and the after that step was in support of drug companies to develop a medicine in support of service in humans.
'Very dramatic'

Prof Mallucci's lab is plus difficult the compound on other forms of neurodegeneration in mice but the results allow not yet been in print.