Possible New Drug to Treat Alzheimer's Disease

 A drug appears to slow progression of Alzheimer's disease. Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia affect more than 40 million people world wide; a number which is estimated to rise to 75.6 million in 2030 as the world population continues to age.

Existing drugs only address symptoms while the disease continued to worsen. By contrast, an experimental drug - solanezumab - tackles beta amyloid, the toxic protein that destroys vital connections between brain cells. Beta amyloid is believed to build up in the brain for 10 or 15 years and steadily kills neurons before Alzheimer's symptoms appear.

Early trials were disappointing, but close analysis suggested there were some benefits if taken at a very early stage of the disease. Patients with mild symptoms who continued taking the drug for another two years preserved more of their cognitive and functional ability. Results suggest that the drug could slow cognitive decline by around 30%.

Details of the full risks and benefits of this drug must wait till ongoing trials finish in 18 months time (Dec. 2022?). The drug does have some side effects (which were not reported in the article).

Clinical findings about another drug (aduncanumab) also trialled in people with early stage Alzheimer's disease, were also presented. Interim results of a safety study found the drug reduced the amount of amyloid plaques in the brain, with an increasing effect as the dose increases. But more than a quarter of those on higher dose experienced headaches and between a third and a half showed abnormalities on a brain scan.

Source: New Drug to Tackle Alzheimer's disease in Daily Mail, 29 May 2021

Mattel Launches Toy Send-back Scheme

 Mattel (which makes Barbie dolls and other plastic toys) has launched a send-back service. Parents can return children's unwanted toys to the company, so they can be recycled and re-used instead of going to landfill. 

Mattel Playback will be available in several countries, including the UK. Initially only Barbie, Matchbox and Mega construction toys will be accepted. The scheme will later be expanded to include other product lines. However it will not accept electronic goods or toys made by other manufacturers. 

Material from old Mattel dolls and building bricks will be recovered and used in new products.

Families who want to use this scheme can visit Mattel's PlayBack webpage and fill out their contact details and the product type they are sending back. They will then get an email with a link to a pre-paid shipping label to print out and attach to their package of items, which they can arrange to be collected.

Source: The I newspaper, 18th May 2021 Barbie manufacturer Mattel launches plastic toy send-back service.

Covid-19 Vaccine Blood Clot Problem

 Warning: This has not been published in a per-reviewed journal, and this theory has not been independently replicated.

The vaccines made by AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson are being linked to a very rare blood clotting disorder. German scientists think they have worked out why, and potentially how to stop it.

Why is this important? Well, several countries have halted the rollout of the AstraZeneca vaccine, and recently Belgium announced it would stop using the J&J vaccine to those under 41. Avoiding just a few cases of blood clots is disrupting vaccination programmes for thousands of people for whom it would not be a problem.

Why do some vaccines have this rare side-effect? A German study (not yet peer-reviewed) suggests that Covid-19 vaccines that use adenovirus vectors (cold viruses) send some of their payload into the nucleus of cells. When this happens, the cells can misread the instructions for making coronavirus proteins, potentially triggering blood clot disorders in a small number of recipients. 

How does this happen? After entering the cell nucleus, parts of the spike protein splice or split apart, creating mutant versions which are unable to bind to the cell membrane. The spike protein, which is found on the surface of the Covid-19 virus, helps the virus to enter other host cells. These mutant versions then enter the body and trigger the rare blood clots.

Why does this not happen with all Covid-19 vaccines? The process is different for mRNA vaccines, such as those made by Pfizer and Moderna, as in these the genetic material of the spike protein is sent directly to the cell fluid and does not enter the nucleus. Researchers think that those using adenovirus vectors could alter the sequence of the spike protein "to avoid unintended splice reactions and to increase the safety of these pharmaceutical products."

How often does this happen? It is important to know that the blood clotting disorder is an extremely rare occurrence in people receiving a coronavirus vaccine. Latest data indicates that out of the 30.8 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine given in the UK between 9 Dec. 2020 and 5 May 2021, there have been more than 260 cases of blood clotting disorder (thrombosis with thrombocytopenia). This is the equivalent of 10.9 cases per million doses. The vast majority were reported after the first dose, and only eight after the second dose.

Source: Daily Express, 27 May 2021: German scientists claim to have finally cracked the vaccine blood clot puzzle.

Viruses Compete to Infect Us

Some viruses are known to compete in order to be the one that causes an infection. Research at University of Glasgow indicates that cold-causing rhinovirus trumps coronavirus. Benefits might be short-lived but rhinovirus is so widespread it could still help to suppress Covid.

Once a virus gets inside the cells in your nose, throat and lungs it can either allow in other viruses (which means that you end up with symptoms of both) or can prevent them entering.

Influenza is one of the most selfish viruses around, and nearly always infects alone.

Adenoviruses are more likely to allow another virus in. They are common viruses that cause a range of illnesses. They can cause cold-like symptoms, fever, sore throat, bronchitis, pneumonia, diarrhoea and pink eye (conjunctivitis).

Rhinovirus severely inhibits Coronavirus infection by triggering an immune response inside infected cells, blocking the ability of Covid to make copies of itself. So a high prevalence of rhinovirus in the population could stop new Covid infections. But Covid would be able to cause an infection again once the cold had passed and the immune response calmed down. Rhinoviruses are the most common cause of the common cold. A large rhinovirus infection may have delayed the 2009 swine flu pandemic in parts of Europe. 

Source: Coronavirus: how the common cold can boot out Covid. BBC News item 23 March 2021 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-56483445