New hope in fight to beat Alzheimer’s

SCIENTISTS may have discovered a way to block Alzheimer’s from causing memory loss.

A protein called Ephexin5 is found in the brains of people suffering from the disease, but not in healthy adults.

It is produced by toxic clumps of another protein called amyloid beta and could contribute towards a loss of connections between nerve cells.

US researchers found that genetically removing Ephexin5 production prevented memory loss in mice with Alzheimer’s symptoms.

Gabrielle Sell, a graduate student at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, in Baltimore, said: “Shutting off Ephexin5 should carry very few side-effects.”

There is no cure for Alzheimer’s, which causes nerve cell death throughout the brain, leading to dementia, which is suffered by some 850,000 Britons.

Dr James Pickett, of the Alzheimer’s Society, said: “Further work is needed to understand the role of this protein.”