Sreemoyee Chatterjee
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Written By: Sreemoyee Chatterjee | Published : August 28, 2018 2:45 PM IST
This is great news for patients suffering from Alzheimer's and their caregivers. A recent study has come up with a new, enhanced method for judging the effectiveness of experimental therapies for progressive loss of neurons or neurodegeneration, one of the potent factors responsible for Alzheimer's disease among the elderlies, thanks to the group of researchers from UBC's Okanagan campus. They highlighted that the study made use of the first automated test specifically designed for checking degeneration of sensory neurons in a lab, according to a recent media report. The study was published in PLOS ONE and was funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and Health Research Fund of Quebec.
"Neurons or nerve cells are hugely important to our daily lives. These specialized cells collect and process the large amounts of information that enter our bodies via our senses, control our muscles and organs, and form our thoughts and memories. When these cells become unhealthy, it leads to diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, ALS, glaucoma and chronic pain," reportedly said, Aaron Johnstone, post-doctoral fellow and study lead author.
As per the media report, he added: "The variability in nerve cell lengths, densities and shapes have traditionally made it difficult to reliably analyse their health," says Johnstone. "This, in turn, has generated confusion about the effectiveness of potential pharmacological or genetic treatments." This software assisted new approach enabled the researchers to measure nerve cell densities more accurately.
The researchers had to grow nerve cells in a lab environment for the study. After establishing healthy nerve cells, they mimicked the conditions that caused neurodegeneration and the neuron loss was studied using a computer algorithm and captured through a fluorescent microcopy.
This study can help a great deal in developing new medicines for neurodegeneration, say the experts. "This procedure makes evaluating new treatment options, like drugs or gene therapies, far more accurate and trustworthy," Johnstone reportedly added.
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