Dementia is one of the fundamental problems of the near future
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The St. Petersburg Federal Research Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the University of St. Petersburg have devised a way to more effectively treat dementia and its forms, Alzheimer’s, Huntington’s and Parkinson’s diseases. With the help of a laser, it was possible to obtain a molecular compound that can serve as the basis for a future drug. In addition, it will be able to act in a targeted way, directly on the damaged areas of the body. This was reported by the press service of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
One of the difficulties of treating neurodegenerative diseases, which lead to difficulties with memory, thinking, and logic, and, in the long term, loss of understanding of oneself and one’s world, is delivering the drug directly to the target: the neurons of the brain and parts of the nervous system so that the concentration does not decrease, but on the “path” other organs were not damaged. To do this, scientists around the world are working on creating targeted drug delivery systems. To hit the target exactly, the capsules are created using nanoparticles. Russian scientists went further and conducted an experiment with a special laser, which, as it turned out, can change the work of molecules of anhydride compounds known since the middle of the 20th century and suitable for the treatment of dementia. According to preliminary results, the resulting compound has low toxicity and its biological activity lies in the fact that it blocks enzymes (proteins and their compounds) that affect the development of neurodegenerative diseases.
In the future, this principle of creating a targeted chemical reaction can serve as the basis for the development of an anhydride-based drug that, using laser radiation, can be selectively “activated” only in a certain area of the patient. body.
Dementia is one of the fundamental threats of the near future. The number of people with dementia is projected to increase from 57.4 million cases worldwide in 2019 to 152.8 million cases in 2050. Now this disease ranks seventh among the most dangerous in terms of mortality and a of the main causes of disability and defenselessness in the elderly. In addition, dementia has become younger in recent years. In February 2023, a clinical case was recorded for the first time when a 19-year-old Chinese boy fell ill with dementia.
