There’s a preprint that was just released with the not unsexy title of: SARS-CoV-2 and HSV-1 Induce Amyloid Aggregation in Human CSF Resulting in Drastic Soluble Protein Depletion.
It is the latest straw in a string of evidence pointing towards what is becoming an overwhelming conclusion – the loss of function of proteins like Aβ-42 in Alzheimer’s or α-Synuclein in Parkinson’s is a driver of neurodegeneration in these diseases. If true, it means patients with these diseases need more of these proteins, not less as the majority of clinical trials trying to modify progression of these diseases have attempted to do.
In a piece released two weeks ago in Oxford University Press‘s Brain Magazine, the authors present what seems to me to be the most compelling evidence yet for this hypothesis. As one of those authors Dr. Albert Espay put it, “An analysis of 24 randomized trials involving 25,000 Alzheimer’s patients suggests an alternative explanation for how anti-Aβ monoclonal antibodies work: they may slow cognitive decline by raising Aβ42 levels.”
I myself have been openly ridiculed and called crazy by several industry representatives for even suggesting we try giving patients more of these proteins. Yet I will continue to press those in the pharma industry to begin taking this seriously so that we can start clinical trials to test the feasibility of this much maligned hypothesis.
And while it still has a long way to go and will require a lot of brave funders, scientists, doctors and most of all patients, if it works there may come a day when we are able to treat diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s with a protein bar found at your local drug store.
As Dr. Kariem Ezzat put it in the comments of his recent LinkedIn thread on the topic: “It’s just common scientific and medical sense. The invention of phantom toxic entities such as prions and oligomers was a terrible mistake and it set the field back decades. You lack insulin, you get insulin, you lack GLP-1, you get GLP-1, you lack Abeta, you get Abeta. Simple.”
It might just be crazy enough to work.
Banner image drawn by Meta.ai with the prompt: “draw a hopeful picture featuring a supplement bar called α-Synuclein”
Click the image above for more background info on Loss of Function vs. Gain of Function.
thank you for your publications and offering hope