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| Science & Technology |
| Breakthrough: Researchers fix Alzheimer's gene |
| 2018-04-16 |
| [MedicalNews] Correcting the faulty gene Next, Dr. Huang and team wanted to see whether it was the loss of APOE3 or the accumulation of APOE4 that caused the disease. So, they compared neurons that did not produce either the E3 or the E4 variant of the protein with cells that had APOE4 added to them. The former continued to behave normally, while adding APOE4 led to Alzheimer's-like pathologies. This confirmed the fact that it is the presence of the APOE4 that causes the disease. As a final step, Dr. Huang and his team looked for ways in which to fix the faulty gene. To this end, they applied a previously developed APOE4 "structure corrector." The so-called structure corrector has been shown in previous research, led by the same Dr. Huang, to change the structure of APOE4 so that it looks and behaves more like the inoffensive APOE3. Applying this compound to human APOE4 neurons corrected the defects, thereby eliminating signs of the disease, restoring normal cell function, and helping the cells to live longer. The researchers conclude: "Treatment of APOE4-expressing neurons with a small-molecule structure corrector ameliorated the detrimental effects, thus showing that correcting the pathogenic conformation of APOE4 is a viable therapeutic approach for APOE4-related [Alzheimer's disease]." Faster please. |
| Posted by:Percy McCoy4369 |
| #13 Very impressive. Even a simple, one-celled amoeba is sooooooo complex. Roger |
| Posted by: Roger 2018-04-16 15:16 |
| #12 And after 20 years of treatment, 1 person in 100,000,000 will develop cancer. So the treatment will be banned. |
| Posted by: Rambler in Virginia 2018-04-16 12:06 |
| #11 So wouldn't that make the recipients a GMO? Genetically modified organism - of course it would! |
| Posted by: Bobby 2018-04-16 12:03 |
| #10 The so-called structure corrector has been shown in previous research, led by the same Dr. Huang, to change the structure of APOE4 so that it looks and behaves more like the inoffensive APOE3. Not that template guided protein-folding sh*t again! |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2018-04-16 11:46 |
| #9 Shanghai, mainland China, will likely have treatment centers in 5 to 10 years, Whether or not it is safe and effective, well...? |
| Posted by: magpie 2018-04-16 10:10 |
| #8 A journey of |
| Posted by: Percy McCoy4369 2018-04-16 09:55 |
| #7 20 years? Which means Nancy will miss it. Well, there's taxidermy and bunny eyes - just pining for the fjords, she is. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2018-04-16 09:39 |
| #6 Unfortunately Dr. Huang forgot where he put his notes on the process. |
| Posted by: Glenmore 2018-04-16 09:26 |
| #5 Most of us will never see this, it'll take 20 years of testing before getting tentative approval. Except in Europe. No sense in upending the actuarial data, and then there's the negative impact felt by big pharma. Yes, 20 years should be about right. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2018-04-16 09:10 |
| #4 Most of us will never see this, it'll take 20 years of testing before getting tentative approval. Except in Europe. |
| Posted by: AlmostAnonymous5839 2018-04-16 09:02 |
| #3 What's the problem? I forget. |
| Posted by: Skidmark 2018-04-16 08:51 |
| #2 To be able to smirk over the fact you got away with it? |
| Posted by: Mercutio 2018-04-16 08:49 |
| #1 But why would I actually want to remember 60 years of stupid ? |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2018-04-16 07:39 |