Alzheimer's Damage Reversible?
Betterhumans reports on early stage research in mice that suggests the damage caused to neural cells by Alzheimer's amyloid plaques is reversible. "Holtzman suspects that the normal transport of organelles along nerve cell branches breaks down, leading to swellings that have been demonstrated to make it difficult for nerve cell branches to send signals. ... antibodies cleared the plaques and within three days there was also a 20% to 25% reduction in existing swellings." If verified, this provides a ray of hope and more backing for attempts to treat Alzheimer's with vaccines - engineering the immune system into attacking the plaques with antibodies.
Link: http://www.betterhumans.com/News/news.aspx?articleID=2005-01-20-5