Since its identification more than a century ago, Alzheimer’s Disease remains shrouded in mystery. Researchers have made progress identifying certain risk factors, and limited treatment options exist. But there’s still no definitive test for the disease, short of a brain examination during autopsy, and no known cure. However new research out of Israel may shed new light on this terrible affliction that – by midcentury – threatens an estimated 130 million people worldwide.
Protein May Act as Trigger
Alzheimer’s researchers have come to recognize the signature beta-amyloid plaque buildup that comes as a result of brain cell death. But the trigger for that process is still a big mystery. Now that may be changing. Researchers at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev discovered that the brains of Alzheimer’s patients reveal a greatly reduced level of the protein Sirtuin-6. This is remarkable because Sirtuin-6 is critical to the repair of DNA. As lead researcher Dr. Debbie Toiber puts it, the deterioration of DNA “is the beginning of the chain that ends in neurodegenerative diseases in seniors.”
Dr. Toiber theorizes that Alzheimer’s could be triggered by widespread DNA damage due to this protein shortage. “If a cell feels it is too dangerous to continue with this damaged DNA,” she says, “it may activate a self-destruct mechanism. If too many cells do this, the tissue with the dying cells will deteriorate, such as the brain.” The key to treating or even preventing the disease may lie in increasing the brain’s expression of Sirtuin-6 as we age. While that treatment may still be a ways off, we may be able to protect ourselves from DNA damage through exercise, a good diet, and challenging our bodies in positive ways.
Not a Cure-All
While this new discovery is encouraging, it’s not a panacea. Dr. Toiber cautions readers by reminding them that half of everyone over the age of 95 will get Alzheimer’s. So to some degree, Alzheimer’s will be an unavoidable part of advanced age, no matter how well we treat ourselves. Despite that caveat, this research offers renewed hope that someday someone will pull away the disease’s shroud of mystery. And in turn, offer a solution for this impending public health crisis.
