Research shows Alzheimer's may be linked to immune system problems

• New research shows that plaque buildup in the brains of Alzheimer's patients may be related to immune system problems.
• Researchers in California recently studied 24 people with probable or possible Alzheimer's disease, as well as 20 healthy people.
• Alzheimer's diseaseAlzheimer's disease gradually damages areas of the brain involved in memory, intelligence, judgment, language, and behavior.
• Alzheimer's disease is most common among older adults, but it's not a normal part of aging.
• That's twice as many as in 1980, but far less than the 11-16 million cases that the group says could be seen by 2050 due to the aging population.
• "Macrophages are the janitors of the innate immune system, gobbling up waste products in the brain and throughout the body," says researcher Milan Fiala, MD, in a news release.
• Fiala works in the medical school of the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), as well as the Greater Los Angeles VA Medical Center.
• Macrophages from healthy participants were up to the task, but those from Alzheimer's patients couldn't clean up adequately.
• "If further study shows that this defective macrophage function is present in most Alzheimer's disease patients, new hormonal or immune-boosting approaches may offer new approaches to treating the disease," says Fiala.
• He says the immune system glitch may also be present in other diseases involving a buildup of waste and plaques, such as heart disease and Gaucher disease, a rare metabolic condition.
• Fiala and colleagues are currently doing lab tests with a naturally occurring hormone called insulin-like growth factor.
• They also plan to investigate other natural substances, such as curcumin, a chemical in the curry spice turmeric, says the news release.
• Curcumin has shown potential against Alzheimer's disease and cancer in other experiments on mice.