Alzheimer’s stopped by pine cones

[4me2]

Alzheimer’s stopped by pine cones

Brain disease pill breakthrough

A NEW pill that harnesses a chemical found in PINE CONES is tipped to become the first to prevent and delay Alzheimer’s disease.

Tests showed the once-a-day tablet — given to patients when they first show symptoms — can stop the degenerative brain condition in its tracks.

It also appeared to slow the progression of Alzheimer’s among patients who had been long diagnosed.
The pill, whose potent chemical is also found in pine tree bark, stops the body producing so-called “amyloid” proteins. These coat brain cells and cause the disease, which hits more than 820,000 Brits.
Code-named NIC5-15, the drug has been rigorously analysed in animal tests, where it showed astounding results.


Trials in humans are now under way and have shown it is safe. But researchers must put it through a series of further clinical trials on a wide variety of patients suffering all stages of Alzheimer’s.
The teams behind its development — drug company Humanetics and the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York, US — are excited about its effects.
Current anti-Alzheimer’s drugs treat the symptoms of the disease, including confusion and memory loss, but do not stop it worsening.
Dr Simon Ridley, head of research at Alzheimer’s Research UK, said: “There is a desperate need for effective treatments. This aims to slow or stop the underlying disease. It would be a huge step forward.”


CAFFEINE pills equivalent to four cups of coffee a day can calm the debilitating tremors caused by Parkinson’s disease, according to researchers at McGill University in Montreal, Canada.

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage...ones-pill.html

[DJ OD]

Wonder how long before we can have access to the pills...


DJ OD