SARASOTA, Fla. (WWSB) – 35 years ago, a pair of scientists made a discovery that they believed would change Alzheimer’s research forever.
Now they say they’ve done it.
Fiona Crawford is one of the world’s leading experts on Alzheimer’s. She studied at the prestigious Saint Mary’s University in London, leaving her life in Ireland behind to break into an area of science that was only beginning to see the spotlight. That was 1988, and it only took two years for her to publish groundbreaking research.
The amyloid is a protein in the brain that is supposed to be there. It has an ordinary function, though scientists aren’t entirely sure what.
Right now Crawford believes it may have something to do with blood vessels, but she isn’t certain.
What she does know for certain is that as people get older, amyloid sometimes gets clogged in the brain. What should normally get filtered out along with blood or spinal fluid instead builds up, eventually causing Alzheimer’s.
Crawford theorized this 35 years ago, and in 2024, drugs based on her research are finally hitting the market.
Unfortunately, it’s not meant for everybody. People in the late stages of Alzheimer’s will still take the drugs they already do–those drugs are designed to help keep up the communicative pathways that have begun breaking down.
The new drug is for people in the early stages. It works almost preventatively, helping bind amyloid to protein and clear it out before Alzheimer’s starts to set in.
Crawford says it’s an extremely exciting time not just for her, but for the field. Scientists are beginning to see a clearer picture of the brain, and with that comes more specific hypotheses, more targeted treatments, and a better world for us all.
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