Zinc Fingers' May Help Treat Alzheimer's Disease

Research in Science Advances details a genetic engineering protocol to dramatically reduce levels of tau protein in an animal model of Alzheimer's disease, which could lead to a potentially promising treatment for patients, reports the Harvard Gazette . The researchers proposed using zinc finger protein transcription factors (ZFP-TFs) to target and suppress expression of the gene that codes for tau. Mice with Alzheimer's got an injection of ZFP-TFs directly into the hippocampus region of the brain, or intravenously into a blood vessel. This treatment reduced tau levels in the brain by 50 percent to 80 percent out to 11 months. The therapy also reversed certain Alzheimer's-related damage that was present in the mice's brain cells. "While this therapy is far from patients — as much more development and safety testing would need to be done — it is a promising and exciting first step," noted Bradley Hyman at the Massachusetts General Hospital Institute for Neurodegenerative Disease.