Biotech companies near your Carmel real estate and Carmel homes, researchers have been searching for the cause of Alzheimer's disease for a couple of decades now. The hope has always been that finding the cause would lead to the cure or at least a reasonable treatment. Recently, research scientists with Genentech and the Salk Institute have announced what they think could be a breakthrough in the study of Alzheimer's. They believe that a protein in the brain releases two components that can cause nerve cells to die. The protein called APP seems to unleash a deadly combination of harmful effects on nerve cells.

Nearly all of the drugs developed, and being developed, to treat Alzheimer focus on the main component of APP. That component, called amyloid beta peptide, is known to collect in the brain in the plaque that researchers relate to the disease. Actually, the presence of that plaque is a definite sign of the disease. The new research has found that the other aspect of APP, named N-APP, has been found to start a chemical chain reaction that destroys neurons in the brain. Their research was published in the science magazine Nature. The results of the research can be read on line in the privacy of your Carmel homes or at the library near your Carmel real estate.

Having another protein to treat could lead to a whole new class of drugs used to treat Alzheimer's disease by the doctors close to your Carmel homes or near your Carmel real estate. In order for these new drugs to be developed there is a major question that needs to be answered: ''What percentage of the neurodegeneration is triggered by the amyloid beta peptide and how much is caused by N-APP?'' There are plenty of things that need to be accounted for, before a drug can be developed and used effectively. No one seems to know for sure which is the causative factor or if one protein increases the effects of the other. Theories abound, but researchers are still scrambling to find concrete proof. Genentech and Merck have begun work on experimental drugs that they hope will stop the progression of the terrible effects of N-APP.

What is known is that Alzheimer's disease affects as many as 5.3 million people in the United States alone. Many of them are close to your Carmel homes and are owners of neighboring Carmel real estate. The disease is progressive and fatal. It robs seniors of their cognitive abilities slowly, but surely. The Alzheimer's Association was developed to help patients and their families deal with the progression of the disease and to provide a place to gather all of the information that they may need to help them do that. The group also has a lobby group that works to increase the amount of research funding coming from Congress as well as trying to increase medical benefits for seniors.

While there are no known definite cures or preventative measures that have been proven, there are a few theories. It is widely believed that factors such as high cholesterol, hypertension, diabetes, and smoking all contribute heavily to the onset and progression of Alzheimer's disease. Diets like the Mediterranean diet, which are good for lowering blood pressure and cholesterol, are thought to slow or prevent the disease. These diets rely heavily on fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. That has led some people to think that the use of vitamins C and E in combination with vitamin B12 can accomplish the same effects.