Let's talk about the man who has spent most of his life helping Alzheimer's and dementia patients. This is more than just research for St. Paul scientist, William H. Frey II. It's personal.
Brain disorders took the lives of his relatives. Since 1977, he has been fighting this battle against Alzheimer's. He spearheaded the research in Regions Hospital in St. Paul. For 40 years, Frey has been dedicated to his work in finding the solution how to end Alzheimer's.
He is a senior research director in HealthPartners Center for Memory and Aging. He gathered the biggest collections of brains for dementia research, and his work became the center of Alzheimer's disease management.
After 27 years, the researcher has made a big discovery. A new treatment is on the works, and it is going through a clinical trial in St. Paul. This is not only beneficial for Alzheimer's patients but for Parkinson's, stroke, brain injury and other medical issues.
The said treatment might take at least 10 years to be available in pharmacies based on Dr. Michael Rosenbloom, Frey's colleague. Dr. Rosenbloom remains to be positive about the technique's efficacy.
For decades, Alzheimer's research was most commonly relegated to the study of amyloids, or protein fragments, which clump together and prevent the brain from working properly.
Alzheimer's research was mostly concentrated on the study of beta-amyloid proteins, the one responsible for the disease. Terry Barclay, a neuropsychologist involved in the study at HealthPartners says, "Unfortunately, that line of research has not given us as many useful treatments as was hoped for." Barclay adds that a new technique for treatment is greatly needed.
Frey discovered the mist treatment in 1989, but people were not excited about it. They had a hard time trusting the idea. Just to patent his invention, he spent at least eight years trying to get it done. In 1997, he finally had his patent. He eventually made a more precise method using the intranasal procedure.
To certain scientists, they think of Alzheimer's as the "diabetes of the brain." The skill to remember is driven by energy. Glucose or blood sugar produces energy. However, those with Alzheimer's have a hard time processing glucose. As insulin provides patients the ability to breakdown glucose in the blood, patients with Alzheimer's may have a better memory if insulin is administered. It doesn't even interfere with the blood glucose levels.
Alzheimer's cases are expected to rise for about 40 percent on 2025. In 2050, there is a possibility that about 16 million people might be diagnosed with it.
Frey says, "I've seen firsthand the consequences of having someone you love and care about get Alzheimer's or get Parkinson's and die from it." He adds that this is really motivating for him.
Brains with Alzheimer's usually appear to have free-floating iron - molecules would collide into the good and healthy cells, and then cause damage to them.
Frey conducted an experiment wherein he gave iron-binding drugs to the mice through their noses. These mice experienced stroke before and the scientists discovered their brain damage decreased at 55 percent after the administration of the drug. On another note, giving this drug to healthy animals will reduce stroke damage.
There is a big possibility that people who are at risk of brain damage, like football players, may be protected from chronic traumatic encephalopathy before the actual trauma happens. Frey says, "That's the direction we're going, if we can get the funding."
Other scientists in Europe have discovered that the intranasal insulin helps enhance memory in adults. Frey's work is indeed a good thing - it's something that we will look forward to in the future.
Dr. David Tal has more than twenty years of clinical experience. He strongly believes that medical treatment can improve the life of Alzheimer's and memory loss patients of any age. His participation at the Age Matters Clinic allows him to share his knowledge with patients and their families.
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