Scientists at Saint Andrews University in Scotland believe they have developed a compound or chemical which brings them nearer to a cure for Alzheimer's.
This compound, they say, can block the interaction of a nerve cell which initiates the disease symptoms. And with this, the biologists feel that they can undo some of the characteristics associated with Alzheimer's and can even turn them around.
This has been reported in the journal, Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience.
Although the treatment is still in the experimental stage and will be ready for testing on humans only after some time, the good news is that it proves to be effective even at a very early stage.
It had been discovered, earlier on, that Alzheimer's was caused by a toxic protein that killed nerve cells in the brains of its victims.
In the very early stages of the disease, the toxic protein known as amyloid collects in nerve cells and kills them. Then, moving out of the cells and collecting in clusters labelled senile plaques, the amyloid ataches itself to an enzyme called Amyloid Beta Alcohol Dehydrogenase (ABAD) which it turns off.
Working with genetically altered mice, the scientists at St. Andrews developed a three-dimensional model of ABAD in order to better understand how the protein attaches itself.
They then worked at finding or developing a compound which could block or reduce this incapacitating contact.
They cultivated a chemical decoy known as a peptide. As Scotland's Dr Frank Gunn-Moore explains, "Based on our knowledge of ABAD, we produced an inhibitor that can prevent amyloid attaching to it in a living model."
The peptide, they were pleased to see, prompted some amyloid already attached to ABAD to detach itself from it and to link up with it instead. With this, the disease did not develop further and some signs of memory loss and learning problems were reversed in the mice.
Observing this development, Scotland's Dr Frank Gunn-Moore and his team together with scientists in the United States, believe they can likewise prevent the dying off of brain cells which could result in the improvement of a previously damaged memory and learning ability in human beings.
Although it is estimated that it will be at least another three years for the peptide to be developed into a drug, and then some more years for the first human trials to be carried out, this has been hailed as landmark.
Dr Susanne Sorensen, head of research, Alzheimer's Society, said: "The study provides another important piece in the puzzle for understanding Alzheimer's disease and points toward a possible new treatment target, which has so far been unexplored."
The Alzheimer's Research Trust that helped sponsor the research has described the results as exciting and has awarded the scientists another grant for the furtherance of its research over the next three years.
About half a million people in Britain are affected by Alzheimer's and this number is expected to practically double as the next generation of the population continues aging.
Although it is believed to be hereditary, genetic factors have been found to be causative in only a few families and there is no single gene for the disease. Scientists believe that several factors such as age and lifestyle, besides genetic background, can lead to its commencement.
