Universal plaque-busting drug could treat various brain diseases

[n2doc]

A virus found in sewage has spawned a unique drug that targets plaques implicated in a host of brain-crippling diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD).

Results from tests of the drug, announced this week, show that it breaks up plaques in mice affected with Alzheimer’s disease or Parkinson’s disease, and improves the memories and cognitive abilities of the animals.

Other promising results in rats and monkeys mean that the drug developers, NeuroPhage Pharmaceuticals, are poised to apply for permission to start testing it in people, with trials starting perhaps as early as next year.

The drug is the first that seems to target and destroy the multiple types of plaque implicated in human brain disease. Plaques are clumps of misfolded proteins that gradually accumulate into sticky, brain-clogging gunk that kills neurons and robs people of their memories and other mental faculties. Different kinds of misfolded proteins are implicated in different brain diseases, and some can be seen within the same condition (see “Proteins gone rogue”, below).


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https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn27921-universal-plaque-busting-drug-could-treat-various-brain-diseases/

[ananda]

1. When it gets around to the human testing stage ...

... I really hope the drug will not have harmful side effects.

I want this to work.

[Helen Borg]

8. The worst that can happens...

Is that it would turn you into a zombie...

[GeorgeGist]

2. If anything will save us ...

it will come from science.

[merrily]

3. I hope it works--and without too many negative side effects.

Getting old ain't for cowards, especially if you haven't been taking great care of yourself all along.

Gather ye rosebuds healthy habits while ye may.

[n2doc]

4. And without costing 10k a shot

It would be so typical of big Pharma to come up with a solution to these horrible diseases and then make it so expensive that only the 1% can afford them. And use TPP to prevent other countries from producing affordable knockoffs.

[merrily]

5. True.

For Americans, laws against drug reimportation make what happens overseas in terms of drug prices less important. We're basically stuck with whatever Pfizer thinks the traffic will bear. However, if TPP can be used to prevent even drug development overseas, that is heinous and unconscionable.

[n2doc]

6. People already go to India and elsewhere for treatment

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/New-Hepatitis-C-drug-99-cheaper-in-India/articleshow/39719323.cms

http://www.allmedicaltourism.com/articles/destinations/india/

[merrily]

7. Yes, they do. A friend did that before Obamacare. I'm not exactly sure if she was uninsured or if,

even with insurance, it was cheaper to go overseas. She sure seemed like someone who could afford health insurance.

[cannabis_flower]

9. Not just that...

I'll be leaving for Central America as soon as I retire. You can live nice down there on $1000 a month.

[jeff47]

10. Just make sure they'll take you.

Rules obviously vary by country. Some make it harder to immigrate if you're older.

For example, if you aren't already a Canadian citizen, it is hard to retire to Canada in your 60s.

So be sure to check before you decide on a country.

[cannabis_flower]

11. Well..

Several will allow if you have an income. There are lots of retired Americans in Panama, Ecuador and various other Central and South American countries. In my case my Husband is a Honduran citizen and owns a house in El Progress.

[jeff47]

12. Yep, several will. My only point was people reading your plan and saying

"That's a good idea" need to check first.