Tanzeel Huma Anwar of theState Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Kunming Institute of Zoology (KIZ), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), recently published a review on the growing impact of Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) in the Pakistani Medical Reviews, illustrating the growing problems raised by the rise in Alzheimer’s as one of the most common forms of dementia afflicting aging populations.
Anwar clearly points out that early diagnosis of the disease will become more crucial as populations age, given that nearly half of octogenarians will end up suffering from Alzheimer’s. This need is particularly acute given that, to date, there are no specific strategies researchers have developed to fully cure the disease, despite promising efforts in elucidating the underlying neurological mechanisms of the disease as well as genetic risk factors for AD in different populations.
Though Anwar notes that there is no cure available, she does highlight some promising therapeutic options, including early prevention by using cholinesterase to slow the breakdown of key neurotransmitters, slowing the disease’s progress with anti-inflammatory drugs and other neuroprotective methods, or using atypical antipsychotics to treat some of the non-cognitive symptoms of AD. Moreover, promising new research is being undertaken in working on pre-symptomatic Alzheimer’s subjects (those who carry genetic determinants that eventually lead to AD) and asymptomatic subjects (those with biomarkers of AD pathology) that may help explain how to avoid risks for AD before they develop and offer novel treatment options.
Hopefully further research into the causes and treatment options of AD may yield promising findings. In the meantime, Anwar and others continue their work in neuroscience. Anwar herself brings a broad range of experience to her research at KIZ. She recently returned to Kunming last month from the International Brain Research Organization’s (IBRO) School in Guangzhou, China, in addition to the 2012 Tehran School of Neuroscience in Iran and BioVision Next in Alexandria, Egypt. Before coming to Kunming as a visiting research assistant in May 2011 to undertake work on neuronal stem cells and kisspeptin as well as the use of rhesus macaque as an animal model, she previously worked at both the Laboratory of Reproductive Neuroendocrinology of Quaid-i-Azam University, Pakistan, and the Department of Neurobiology at Yale University, USA.
The entire report “Alzheimer Disease— A Dire Threat” can be read in Medical Reviews 24(2) February 2013.
(By Andrew Willden)
