03 February 2004 15:30
Russian scientists says cure for Alzheimer`s close
[Presenter] Russian scientists are close to finding the cause of one of the most terrible human diseases -
Alzheimer's. Research by St Petersburg biologists has revealed that the disease can be caused by oxygen deficiency.
Medical staff have already joined the research in the hope that a cure will be found soon. Our correspondent reports
from St Petersburg.
[Correspondent Natalya Dubrovskaya] This is the laboratory of Sechenov Institute of Evolutionary Physiology [and
Biochemistry]. For five years St Petersburg scientists have been studying here how oxygen deficiency or hypoxia affects
the human organism. It is possible that the research, conducted together with British scientists, might result in
finding a cure for Alzheimer's disease which up to now has been considered incurable. The role of some key enzymes
has been revealed, the change of their balance during hypoxia results in the accumulation of peptide [nucleic acid, PNA]
in the organism and peptide is an organic substance responsible for the disease.
[Dmitriy Vasilyev, scientist] Here we see structural changes in the brain tissue of a rat which suffered prenatal
hypoxia. These are dying nerve cells. After we calculate the number of dying neurons, the change in cell sizes and the
ratio of the cells of different sizes we will be able to see structural tissue changes.
[Correspondent] Rodents are used for laboratory tests to help find ways to treat the disease. The institute's
laboratory has all necessary testing equipment installed. Scientists study the rats' behaviour very closely - all
their movements, even those which are barely perceptible, are picked up by a computer. These rodents have suffered
hypoxia at different stages of their life. It has emerged that the insufficient blood circulation in adult rodents'
brains results in dementia.
[Igor Zhuravin, biologist] The ability to learn diminishes by approximately 25-33 per cent in animals who suffered
hypoxia at a certain embryonic stage. Their ability to remember also declines. This is how I and my colleagues realized
that there is a way that hypoxia heightens the risk of memory failure.
[Correspondent] The success of treating people directly depends on the success of testing laboratory animals, thus
scientists have started to conduct joint tests with medical staff. For about 12 months doctors have been observing the
state of health of 80 patients aged 17 to 78 years old who suffer brain hypoxia.
Alzheimer's results in dementia and more often it develops in old people. The disease is considered to be one of
the chief medical and social problems globally. Twelve million people suffer from this incurable disease. Former US
president Ronald Reagan is among them. Nobody knows how many such patients there are in St Petersburg. There are no
official statistics in Russia of this. Unlike in the USA the final diagnosis in Russia is made during a postmortem
examination.
[c/r 091950-092245] [Video shows a laboratory, graphs, documents, a scientist commenting, white rats]
[NTV] |
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