Blood-brain barrier treatment 'may prevent Alzheimer's decline'RSS Feed

Targeting the blood-brain barrier in Alzheimer's sufferers may delay further brain injury caused by the acquired illness, research suggests.

Scientists from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences have demonstrated a means of reducing the accumulation of beta-amyloid protein in the brain.

The blood-brain barrier prevents toxic chemicals from entering the brain, as well as removing toxic metabolites such as proteins, which have been associated with the progression of the illness.

Commenting on the findings of the Molecular Pharmacology study, paper author David Miller said: "We [now] know P-glycoprotein levels are reduced in the blood-brain barrier, and that the Alzheimer's mice treated with the chemical to activate PXR were able to reduce their beta-amyloid levels to that of mice without Alzheimer's."

Last month, research published in the American Academy of Neurology by scientists at the University Medical Center in Chicago suggested that memory and thinking skills may begin to decline in Alzheimer's sufferers before the first stage of the disease.

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