FRESH DRUG THAT 'ACTS JUST LIKE A NINJA' CAN TACKLE AND DIAGNOSE DEMENTIA: TREATMENT WILL MINIMIZE PROTEINS IN THE BRAIN FORMING PLAQUES THAT ARE ONE OF THE KEY TRIGGERS OF THE ILLNESS

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A drug that acts 'like a ninja' could stop the progression of Alzheimer's without creating side-effects.

Researchers are developing the medication that stops beta amyloid protein in the brain from grouping into plaques -- one of the key reasons for Alzheimer's disease. 

Early results suggest the drug -- known as PMN310 -- is more effective at stopping the spread of these toxic groups than other drugs getting trialled as Alzheimer's treatments.

Tests on mice also available it prevented short-term memory damage and may even change symptoms.

Around 850, 500 people in the UK have dementia and over 60 per cent of those have Alzheimer's disease.

In Alzheimer's, proteins build up within the mind developing either plaques -- triggered by beta amyloid -- or tangles: both destroy nerve cells and harm the brain.

No successful treatment exists for the condition and most drugs analyzed up to now have failed to remove plaques from the brain.

Beta amyloid protein is produced during our lifetime as a waste product from the brain's natural processes.

In younger people, the brain can clean out the waste materials product quicker than it makes it, but since people age the balance shifts and amyloid commences to develop.

With Alzheimer's, the protein starts grouping and can build plaques which damage nerve cells and eventually kill brain cells.The disease process can begin years before any symptoms show, so experts consider targeting beta amyloid before it turns into plaque could be key to stopping the spread of the disease -- and even stop symptoms happening.

Researchers from proMIS and the University of Uk Columbia in Canada designed the PMN310 drug to bind to these dangerous beta amyloid groups and stop them from eliminating nerve cells without destroying any other areas of the brain.

Tests on humans to see if the drug can halt the progression of Alzheimer's are due to start out within the next 18 months. In future, the drug could even be used in order to diagnose Alzheimer's

Commenting on the drug, Dr Doug Brown, director of research and development at the Alzheimer's Society said: 'This promising study shows the design of a new drug to focus on amyloid in a different way -- removing the groups of amyloid protein that develop before they may become plaques.

'Researchers believe this can be more effective and safer than eliminating the plaques themselves. It can very early days for this drug, and more development will be needed before it can also be examined for safety that individuals. '

? Meanwhile, scientists have found people who suffer difficulty in breathing in their sleep are in a twenty six per cent the upper chances of developing dementia.

Researchers at Wheaton College in the U. S. found those with sleep apnoea experienced more plaque in their brains and built up at a faster rate. Sleep apnoea is a condition where the air passage close during sleep, briefly starving the mind of oxygen.

Scientists believe this accelerates damage to the mind and increases the build-up of plaque -- a key reason for Alzheimer's.