'Swiss Agent' research unearths new Lyme disease mystery : statnews

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'Swiss Agent' research unearths new Lyme disease mystery

'Swiss Agent' research unearths new Lyme disease mystery

The tick hunter was hopeful he had found the cause of the disabling illness, recently named Lyme disease, that was spreading anxiety through leafy communities east of New York City.At a government lab in Montana, Willy Burgdorfer typed a letter to a colleague, reporting that blood from Lyme patients showed "very strong reactions" on a test for an obscure, tick-borne bacterium.He called it the "Swiss Agent."But further studies raised doubts about whether he had the right culprit, and 18 months later, in 1981, Burgdorfer instead pinned Lyme on another microbe.The Swiss Agent test results were forgotten.


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Alzheimer's disease may be treated by gene therapy, says new study

Alzheimer's disease may be treated by gene therapy, says new study

LONDON: Injecting a specific gene directly into the brain may offer a potential new therapy for halting the progress of Alzheimer's disease, especially when treated at an early stage, a new study has claimed.Scientists from Imperial College London in the UK used a type of modified virus to deliver a gene to brain cells in mice.Previous studies by the same team suggest this gene, called PGC1 - alpha , may prevent the formation of a protein called amyloid-beta peptide in cells in the lab.Amyloid-beta peptide is the main component of amyloid plaques, the sticky clumps of protein found in the brains of people with Alzheimer's disease.These plaques are thought to trigger the death of brain cells.Worldwide 47.5 million people are affected by dementia - of which Alzheimer's is the most common form, researchers said.There is no cure, although current drugs can help treat the symptoms of the disease.Magdalena Sastre, senior author of the research, hopes the new findings may one day provide a method of preventing the disease, or halting it in the early stages."Although these findings are very early they suggest this gene therapy may have potential therapeutic use for patients," said Sastre."There are many hurdles to overcome, and at the moment the only way to deliver the gene is via an injection directly into the brain.


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This new gene therapy can treat Alzheimer's disease

This new gene therapy can treat Alzheimer's disease

Alzheimer's disease hits people as they age and doctors have not found any cure to treat the disease that affects cognitive functioning and leads to memory loss.Alzheimer's leads to accumulation of a protein named amyloid-beta in the brain and scientists have found a new gene that might prevent accumulation of this protein.Alzheimer is a chronic neurodegenerative disease that weakens memory.Initially, it starts slowly but it soon gathers pace and gets worse over time.