A team of Japanese researchers has found a new drug combination that reduces amyloid beta protein, believed to play a key role in causing Alzheimer¡¯s disease, by using stem cells derived from patients, Kyoto University announced Tuesday.
The scientists believe their findings, published in the online edition of the Cell Reports journal the same day, is a promising step to eventually find a drug to treat Alzheimer¡¯s ¡ª a progressive disease characterized by memory loss that affects tens of millions of people worldwide. There is so far no known cure or established treatment for Alzheimer¡¯s.
For its experiment, the team created so-called induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS cells) from individuals, including patients with Alzheimer¡¯s, and then cultivated them in vitro to replicate diseased brain tissue.
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