An experimental Chinese treatment for Alzheimer’s disease focused on glucose levels has shown promise in a trial on mice, with researchers reporting significant improvement in late-stage symptoms.
A team from the Kunming Institute of Zoology, under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said the mice showed a substantial reversal in memory loss and reduced brain plaque within weeks of being treated with the drug.
The researchers reported the results of their study in peer-reviewed journal Advanced Science on December 8.
Alzheimer’s is the most common form of dementia and while its cause is not fully understood it is thought to be to do with a build-up of proteins such as amyloid-beta in the brain.
But the Kunming team has taken a different approach. Their theory is that Alzheimer’s could stem from an abnormally low supply of glucose – a simple sugar and the body’s main source of energy – in brain tissue that leads to problems with brain energy metabolism.
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Memory: the thin line connecting dementia patients and their families
Memory: the thin line connecting dementia patients and their families
The team’s experimental drug aims to restore glucose levels in the brain by targeting the GLUT1 glucose transport protein, and potentially treating the neurodegenerative disease.
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