2 Nanoparticles Produced for Alzheimer’s disease Treatment
KABUL: (Middle East Press) Researchers of Biomedical Engineering Department at Amirkabir University of Technology have developed 2 nanoparticles that can be used in treating Alzheimer’s disease.
Mojtaba Ansari, the project manager, referred to the causes of this memory loss disease, saying “in cases of Alzheimer’s disease, a kind of protein called Amyloid beta aggregates in the spaces between the brain’s nerve cells, causing a loss of synapses – contact points via which nerve cells relay signals to one another – and a parallel deterioration in brain function in the ability to remember.”
“In this study we managed to develop a kind of nanoparticle that prevents the aggregation and toxicity of beta-amyloid proteins,” he said.
Noting that the results of the study can be used in two different fields, Ansari explained, “part of the results can be used to create a medicine and in another part, the nanoparticles can be used as blood purifier to remove the pathogens since the nanoparticles can attach themselves to the amyloid proteins and prevent their aggregation in brain’s nerve cells.”
Ansari identified the two developed nanoparticles as ‘Acyl-Polycaprolactone’ and ‘magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles modified by beta-Cyclodextrin.’
“We obtained good results at the laboratory phase and hope that the research can be effective in developing new therapeutic strategies for treating Alzheimer’s,” said the Iranian researcher.
Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia, accounting for 60 to 80 percent of dementia cases. It is a progressive disease, where dementia symptoms gradually worsen over a number of years. Alzheimer’s disease has no current cure, but treatments for symptoms are available and research continues.
