A recent study led by the Mount Sinai School of Medicine and published in the Neurobiology of Aging identified a faulty molecule in the brain in patients who have mild cognitive impairment. The study claims this faulty molecule might be responsible for the progression from mild cognitive impairment to mild Alzheimer’s disease to full-blown dementia.

The goal of this research is to provide direction for preventative treatments to eliminate amyloid plaque-causing peptides in the brain during the earliest stages of AD when beta-amyloid peptides are already on the rise in the brain regions necessary for memory function.

The study explains that a possible reason for the early increase of beta-amyloid peptides is the inactivity of an enzyme that breaks them down, also known as an insulin-degrading enzyme (IDE).

A loss of IDE activity has been previously shown to occur in severe AD. The current results suggest that that the lack of IDE could raise levels of toxic beta-amyloid peptides even before AD is diagnosed. Mount Sinai researchers suggest that boosting IDE activity with drugs may even reverse beta-amyloid peptide accumulation. This presents a new therapeutic angle to preventing AD which afflicts 4.5 million Americans.

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Debbie Mandel, MA is the author of Changing Habits: The Caregivers' Total Workout and Turn On Your Inner Light: Fitness for Body, Mind and Soul, a stress-reduction specialist, motivational speaker, a personal trainer and mind/body lecturer. She is the host of the weekly Turn On Your Inner Light Show on WGBB AM1240 in New York City , produces a weekly wellness newsletter, and has been featured on radio/ TV and print media. To learn more visit: www.turnonyourinnerlight.com