Scientists in America have developed a nasal spray that can remove proteins in the brain associated with Alzheimer’s disease – at least, in mice.
There are two proteins implicated in Alzheimer’s: amyloid and tau. Most of the drugs – included those recently approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) – focus on removing amyloid. To date, though, there has been little focus on removing tau “tangles”. However, the new nasal spray, developed by researchers at the University of Texas Medical Branch, focuses on this protein.
In a healthy brain, tau, among other things, helps to maintain the support structure of neurons (brain cells). In Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative disease, these proteins accumulate inside cells, abnormally twist and form thread-like structures known as neurofibrillary tangles. These tangles are not efficiently cleared by the brain’s normal waste removal processes, which causes cell damage and death. This leads to memory loss.
