The ever-slowing capacity to clear the build-up of such toxins as isoprostanes and misfolded proteins that accumulate in the brains of Alzheimer's disease patients causes the death of cells involved in memory and language.
Domenico Pratico, MD, Associate Professor of Pharmacology at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, and colleagues have shown in a preliminary study that reducing the levels of isoprostanes, which specifically reflect oxidative damage in the brain, by draining cerebral spinal fluid (CSF) can stave off future reductions in cognitive abilities. This work appears in the August issue of the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease.
As measured by a paper-and-pencil cognitive test, the researchers found that scores of the eight patients who had the specially designed shunt continuously operating for one year stayed stable. However, the scores of patients who did not get the shunt declined by 20 percent after 12 months. "What's interesting is that the patients without the shunt didn't stop taking their regular Alzheimer medication, such as anti-cholinesterase," says Pratico.