“More than 5.3 million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s disease, and the numbers are expected to rise as the nation ages. The brain-robbing disease is the only one among the top 10 causes of deaths in the United States that cannot be prevented, cured, or even slowed by conventional medicine.”

This article shows 5 important advances in 2016:

1. EPPS

The Korean researchers was able to discover a chemical called EPPS that is closely similar to amino acid taurine and is bound to destroy the characteristics of toxic amyloid plaques that build up in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients. Taurine are mostly common to energy drinks and is believed to have antioxidant properties and to improve mental and physical performance.

Mice with Alzheimer’s disease was experimented in this research and the drinks were mixed with taurine and they found out that the animals’ cognitive function returned to normal and amyloid plaques were cleared from their brains.

Although it has not yet been experimented with humans yet, researchers believe that it has the ability to stop neurodegeneration.

2. Solanezumab

Eli Lily, an American drug company, announced that a drug called solanezumab slowed the rate of decline in Alzheimer’s patients. A patient with mild dementia, solanezumab slowed the progression of the disease by 30 percent for those that has been suffering for several years of the disease.

The drug company plans to investigate further if the drug is effective when given at an earlier stage.

It is said that this is an antibody that deconstructs the formation of the amyloid plaques and cause them to disintegrate. A trial is due to be completed this year.

3. Ultrasound Technoloy

Researchers from Australia believes that a non-invasive ultrasound can break up the amyloid plaques that are found in Alzheimer’s disease and reverse memory loss. It was found to be effective when used on mice bred to develop Alzheimer’s but it has yet to be tested on humans.

4. Aducanumab

Patients that were treated with aducanumab showed a reduction in amyloid plaque in patients that are in the earliest stage of Alzheimer’s. The higher the dosage a patient was given, the greater the reduction in plaque and rate of clinical decline.

5. Brain fungus

The idea that a fungus is the cause of Alzheimer’s is not new since it has been introduced since 1910 but was ignored by modern scientists. Molecular biologists studied 14 cadavers with Alzheimer’s and all of them had 14 fungal infections. The infections were found inside and outside the brain.

The question being posed now: Is whether Alzheimer’s are caused by fungi or is it just an end result of the patients unhealthy body? No one knows but experiments will be done on Alzheimer’s to find out the truth.

Full story here.