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There is no known cure or preventative measure for Alzheimer's disease, just caring for the individual affected. But, there exists drugs, such as Donepezil and Alantamine, that aid in managing symptoms of the disease. These drugs act by inhibition and are referred to as choilentrase inhibitors (National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke 2013). However, there is increased voicing of the need for therapeutic relief, methods of curing persons of this ailment and improving life. One such area is the study of gene therapy for the disease, although there has been ongoing research there has yet to be a breakthrough in the field of research, as clinical trials have yet to yield results. .
Gene therapy is a technique that utilizes genes to treat symptoms of diseases. These genes alter the genetic makeup of the person where there is a mutation or abnormality in the normal functioning of a gene. Delivery of the gene is achieved through insertion into a carrier vector that is put into the individual intravenously or ex vivo. The vector is taken up by the targeted cells and if recognized and integrated, allows for production of the functioning protein (Scientific American 2008).
This makes gene therapy a very attractive path for the cure of Alzheimer's disease. It is with such a thought that this dissertation deals with prospective routes of gene therapy and routes that pertain to Alzheimer's disease, tracking of Prion proteins, nerve growth factor, Acat1 knockdown, Crtc1 transcriptional activation and Wnt7a signaling with calmodulin protein kinase action. These studies provide present research and experimental statistics that can be utilized in the development of a cure and preventative measure for Alzheimer's disease.
All experiments techniques were done on brain either using transgenic mice or brain samples from brain banks. The brain was the area of the study of Alzheimer's since Alzheimer's was defined as the build of amyloid plaque in the brain, affecting the basics of memory, therefore causing memory loss.
