Published on June 17th, 2012 | by James Johnson
0Immune System Attacks Alzheimer’s Disease, Study Finds
Alzheimer’s disease may be kept at bay because of a person’s immune system according to new Mice and Human research conducted by a team at the Peninsula College of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Exeter along with partners at the National Institute on Aging in the USA.
Researchers examined the expression levels for thousands of genes in nearly 700 people and they say the telltale marker of immune system activity against beta-amyloid, a gene called CCR2 was discovered as the top market associated with memory in people.
The study used the Mini Mental State Examination to measure cognitive functions including memory measurement.
In mice researchers found that by augmenting the CCR2-activated part of the immune system in the blood stream they were able to improve memory in mice susceptible to Alzheimer’s disease.
According to lead researcher David Melzer:
“This is a very exciting result. It may be that CCR2-associated immunity could be strengthened in humans to slow Alzheimer’s disease, but much more work will be needed to ensure that this approach is safe and effective.”
More research is already being studied.