For over a decade, scientists have thought that if amyloid protein is the primary problem in dementia, the key to treatment must be drugs which reduce its production or stimulate its clearance from the brain. Initial efforts however, whilst they reduced the amount of protein, did little to improve clinical symptoms and outcomes.
Studies are ongoing to determine whether giving drugs very early in the condition (in people for example with evidence of amyloid in their brains but no symptoms of dementia) can halt or even prevent it. Let’s hope they yield positive results.
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