There is no 'cure' for dementia at this time. In reality, considering dementia is characterized by a variety of disorders, there is unlikely to be a single dementia treatment.

Alzheimer's disease, frontotemporal dementia, and dementia with Lewy bodies are among the disorders for which research is being conducted.

Understanding how various illnesses generate brain damage and hence dementia has progressed significantly. And, because of improved financing in recent years, many additional research investigations and clinical trials are currently underway.

Even though a cure could be years away, there have been some encouraging developments.

Here are some of the topics on which researchers are working, as well as their preliminary findings.

Dementia and stem cells

Stem cells are cells that serve as 'building blocks.' They can grow into a variety of cell types, particularly the brain and nerve cells.

In the lab, scientists 'reprogrammed' skin cells from persons with specific kinds of dementia, including Alzheimer's disease, into stem cells. They then induced these bone marrow to differentiate into brain cells.

Scientists have obtained crucial insights into how brain injury develops and how it could be stopped by examining these cells.

These brain cells could also be employed to investigate therapy options at an early stage.

Immunotherapy

Immunotherapy is the process of enhancing the body's natural defenses against illness. This is one of the strategies that has proven to be beneficial in the treatment of various disorders, such as cancer.

Vaccination against aberrant proteins which build up in the system in Alzheimer's disease has been utilized in several dementia trials. Monoclonal antibodies (man-made copies of immune system proteins) have been employed in other trials to target these proteins and halt disease progression.

Monoclonal antibodies, for example, have been developed to address the amyloid molecule, which accumulates in the brains of Alzheimer's patients.

Several attempts to attack amyloid with vaccination through monoclonal antibodies have so far failed. However, lessons from these unsuccessful experiments have been learned, and several fresh clinical trials are currently underway.

The CLARITY trial, for example, is determining how successful the antibody response BAN2401 (lecanemab) is at preventing or delaying Alzheimer's disease in its early stages.

Recent trials have shown promise, and the US United states Food And drug are presently considering one therapy that uses an antigen called aducanumab (FDA).

In Alzheimer's disease and other disorders, immunotherapies are indeed being employed to target the tau protein.

Researchers are also looking at microglia, which are specialized immune cells in the brain. These cells assist in the removal of waste from the brain.

These immune systems appear to become hyperactive in Alzheimer's disease, perhaps causing more brain damage. Current research is attempting to pinpoint

Gene-based medicine

The use of gene-based medicines to target genes that cause dementia, including Alzheimer's disease as well as frontotemporal dementia, is gaining popularity.

Gene-based medicines are also being utilized to lower the creation of proteins associated with dementia, such as beta in Alzheimer's disease.

Medicine repurposing

It takes several years and millions of pounds to develop new dementia medications.

Another, often faster, the option to develop dementia treatments is to repurpose existing pharmaceuticals used for other illnesses.

Medicines used to treat Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia are now being studied as viable therapies.

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