New study shows Alzheimer’s disease can be reversed to achieve full neurological recovery—not just prevented or slowed—in animal models | CWRU Newsroom | Case Western Reserve University
case.edu
For more than a century, people have considered Alzheimer's disease (AD) an irreversible illness. Consequently, research has focused on preventing or ...
  • fleem@piefed.zeromedia.vipEnglish
    13·
    3 days ago

    saving this to read later, but that’s both potentially good news to hear and also incredibly hard to believe

    • MisterOwl@lemmy.worldEnglish
      111·
      3 days ago

      Another medical miracle that will disappear from the radar in a day or two, never to be seen again. Just like all the cures for cancer, the cure for diabetes, regrowing tooth enamel, etc etc.

  • BananaTrifleViolin@piefed.worldEnglish
    9·
    3 days ago

    This is fascinating research and does offer some hope for future research but is far from being applicable in humans. This is based on mouse models - mice don’t get Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) as the article says, so we’re inducing a similar illness in them via genetic engineering by messing with genes that are associated with AD in humans. It does not follow that this is the same condition that we see in humans. So reversing the articifically created AD-like disease in Mice does not mean that it has any relevance to humans.

    Also while the mice saw “full recovery”, even those who were treated after disease onset, that also does not necessairly apply to human AD. This kinds of experiments will have been run for weeks or months, while AD in humans has years of onset. The mice may not have had the same kind of fundamental damage seen in human AD. Mouse cognitive function is also quite different from human cognitive function - we are significantly more intelligent and complex beings.

    The research does have value, and does add further evidence to the role NAD+ might play in the disease or treatin the disease. But unfortunately this is a long way from relevance to treating people with AD now. This could be a useful finding or it could end up being an irrelevant curiosity - such is the nature of research. It should also be noted that this is a news article, not a peer reviewed article and is more of a “PR” piece; this research is being commercialised by those involved so the motivation is to talk up their findings. A dose of healthy scepticism is needed on the coverage for this. Fingers crossed this comes to something meaningful in the fight against Alzheimer’s Disease.