Simple Chemical Stops Prion Disease

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Simple Chemical Stops Prion Disease
Topic Started: Aug 12 2015, 11:13 AM (221 Views)
Darcie	Aug 12 2015, 11:13 AM Post #1
Skeptic Posts: 31,154 Group: Member Member #714 Joined: March 30, 2010	Quote: Mad cow, scrapie and Creutzfeld-Jakob disease are all diseases of the brain that debilitate before they kill, and have no cure, or even many good treatment options beyond supportive care. But now, researchers in Switzerland say it's possible to block the misfolded proteins called prions that cause these diseases, by using a compound that biologists have used to track other molecules. Prions are a distinct type of protein — they can self-replicate, said Adriano Aguzzi, professor of neuropathology at the University of Zurich, who led the study. When a prion comes into contact with a normal protein, it makes the normal protein alter its shape, and become a prion, too. Mad cow and scrapie affect cows and sheep, respectively, and Creutzfeld-Jakob disease (CJD) affects people. In the new study, Aguzzi's team used chemicals called luminescent conjugated polythiophenes, which are fluorescent compounds that researchers often use to stain tissue samples, so they can see what's happening in cells. The team first infected mice with a prion disease, then injected them with polythiophenes They found that some polythiophenes extended the mice's survival by more than 80 percent, compared with control mice that were not injected with polythiophenes. http://www.livescience.com/51763-prion-disease-chemical.html?cmpid=NL_Health_weekly_2015-08-11 That is a really surprising and promissing finding.



Trotsky	Aug 13 2015, 12:12 AM Post #2
Big City Boy Posts: 38,319 Group: Member Member #79 Joined: September 8, 2005	By extension, do they think that Alzheimer's sufferers might benefit? Quote: Recent experiments in mice have added weight to the idea that Alzheimer’s is driven by an infection-like spread of protein aggregates in the brain. Although it may seem startling, this hypothesis has been a popular one among Alzheimer’s researchers for the past several years (see “Alzheimer's Protein Shows Prion-like Infectiousness”). In fact, it represents a return to one of the first modern theories about Alzheimer’s: that it is like a weakly-transmissible prion disease.



Bitsy	Aug 13 2015, 01:54 AM Post #3
Veteran Member Posts: 31,383 Group: Member Member #267 Joined: March 11, 2006	Trotsky Aug 13 2015, 12:12 AM By extension, do they think that Alzheimer's sufferers might benefit? Quote: Recent experiments in mice have added weight to the idea that Alzheimer’s is driven by an infection-like spread of protein aggregates in the brain. Although it may seem startling, this hypothesis has been a popular one among Alzheimer’s researchers for the past several years (see “Alzheimer's Protein Shows Prion-like Infectiousness”). In fact, it represents a return to one of the first modern theories about Alzheimer’s: that it is like a weakly-transmissible prion disease. If proven to be safe for humans, I hope they would be tested for use in treating Alzheimer.



Trotsky	Aug 13 2015, 03:26 AM Post #4
Big City Boy Posts: 38,319 Group: Member Member #79 Joined: September 8, 2005	I hate that word "transmissible." We have enough to worry about with Legionella and influenza. Edited by Trotsky, Aug 13 2015, 03:42 AM.



Darcie	Aug 13 2015, 04:12 AM Post #5
Skeptic Posts: 31,154 Group: Member Member #714 Joined: March 30, 2010	Seems strange as it does seem to run in families, for instance my father and mother's families have not had Alzheimers in their members but I have a friend that 4 generations have it. May be close proximity or maybe it is genetic and there is something that protects vs something that allows. I do understand that misfolded proteins are quite prevalent in most neurological diseases, and in my lack of education on the subject I think maybe proteins are a key - maybe - this is the direction of much of the research going on apparently when dealing with neurological diseases. I am totally un-knowledgeable about this and it is simply a notion I got from a lot of reading.



Durgan	Aug 13 2015, 06:38 AM Post #6
Veteran Member Posts: 13,273 Group: Gardening Guru Member #720 Joined: March 31, 2010	According to the prognostications of one researcher about ten years ago half the world was supposed to be suffering from the spin off of mad cow disease. Prions being the culprit. Apparently it didn't happen.



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