Drug used to treat stroke may also prevent Alzheimer's

Experimental stroke drug may also prevent Alzheimer's by 'preventing the build-up of toxic proteins in the brain' Giving mice the medication 3K3A-APC stopped Alzheimer's symptoms  3K3A-APC is used to reduce bleeding within the brain tissue of stroke patients Reduces inflammation, and protects nerve cells and the lining of blood vessels  

By Alexandra Thompson Senior Health Reporter For Mailonline

Published: 14:00 GMT, 15 January 2019 | Updated: 14:33 GMT, 15 January 2019

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An experimental drug used to treat stroke may also prevent Alzheimer's, research suggests.

A study found giving mice the medication 3K3A-APC protects their brains against the build-up of toxic proteins and inhibits memory loss.

3K3A-APC is already used to reduce bleeding within the brain tissue of stroke patients and has demonstrated its safety.

A drug used to treat stroke may also prevent Alzheimer's, research suggests (stock)

A drug used to treat stroke may also prevent Alzheimer's, research suggests (stock)

The research was carried out by the University of Southern California and led by Dr Berislav Zlokovic, director of the Zilkha Neurogenetic Institute at the Keck School of Medicine.

Alzheimer's is the most common form of dementia and affects more than 520,000 people in the UK, according to the Alzheimer's Society. 

The disease has around 5.7million patients in the US, Alzheimer's Association statistics show. 

3K3A-APC is a genetically modified version of a human blood protein called activated protein C, the researchers explained in the Journal of Experimental Medicine.

Activated protein C reduces inflammation, and protects nerve cells and the cells that line the blood vessels from programmed cell suicide, known as apoptosis. 

'Because of its neuroprotective, vasculoprotective, and anti-inflammatory activities in multiple models of neurological disorders, we investigated whether 3K3A-APC can also protect the brain from the toxic effects of amyloid-β toxin in a mouse model of Alzheimer's,' Dr Zlokovic said.

Amyloid-β proteins accumulate in the brains of Alzheimer's patients, which leads to the progressive loss of nerve cells and reduced blood flow through the vital organ.

When injected into mice that were genetically at-risk of Alzheimer's over four months, the researchers found 3K3A-APC reduced the accumulation of amyloid-β by up to 50 per cent.

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