Tuesday, May 16, 2017

Science weekly: can we cure Alzheimer's? – podcast

Photograph: Philippe Huguen/AFP/Getty Images

Alzheimer’s disease affects millions of people worldwide. But despite decades of research costing hundreds of millions of dollars, we have no cure. Why?

It was first identified in 1901 by German scientist Alois Alzheimer; today, about 30 million people worldwide live with Alzheimer’s disease, a figure that could triple by 2050, according to some estimates.

Despite drug companies spending decades and hundreds of millions of dollars on development into drugs, so far nothing has been discovered that can stop the disease. But why is Alzheimer’s so hard to cure?

To probe this question Ian Sample is joined by Dr David Reynolds, chief scientific officer at Alzheimer’s Research UK, Professor Roger Morris, a molecular neurobiologist at King’s College London and Professor Giovanna Mallucci from the University of Cambridge.

Story Source: The above story is based on materials provided by THEGUARDIAN

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