It is the first time that a “gene silencing” approach has been adopted in dementia and Alzheimer’s disease Alzheimer. The study, led by consultant neurologist Dr Catherine Mummery (UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology and National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery), uses a drug called BIIB080 (/IONIS – MAPTRx). An antisense oligonucleotide (used to stop RNA from making a protein) to “silence” the gene that codes for the tau protein, known as microtubule-associated tau protein. This prevents the gene from being translated into the protein in a measurable and reversible way. It will also reduce the production of that protein and alter the course of the disease.
Could a sleeping pill be the key to delaying Alzheimer’s? The latest American study