MIAMI – A study at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine is shedding light on African Americans and Alzheimer’s disease.
Starting with blood biomarkers to determine who might be at risk, researchers at the John P. Hussman Institute for Human Genomics found that African American patients with higher educational achievement were more resilient against the disease than those with less education.
The study showed that lifelong learning and education support “cognitive reserve” which has a protective effect against the disease.
“You can imagine an individual with a backup generator which allows an individual to overcome the damage caused by Alzheimer’s disease. So even if they have this damage, they can maintain their cognitive and functional abilities. So education contributes to this reserve and provides protection even though you have this damage to your brain,” said paper lead author Dr. Farid Rajabli.
The study is part of a larger effort to investigate social determinants of risk for Alzheimer’s disease including lifestyle and environmental factors.
EXISTING DRUG MAY TREAT ALZHEIMER’S
More data is showing that a well-known drug could be repurposed to treat Alzheimer’s disease.
The drug Sildenafil is used to treat people with erectile dysfunction or high blood pressure.
Researchers with the Cleveland Clinic have found it also appears to lower levels of certain proteins in the brain which are linked to Alzheimer’s.
The next step is to develop a clinical trial to test the drug’s safety and efficacy.