Journal of Brain Research

Curing Human Dementias

Abstract

Michael Fossel

Both animal research and human clinical trials on age-related CNS diseases have suffered from the lack of a unified systems model. One result has been the failure of animal studies to translate into successful human trials, as well as the uniform failure of clinical trials aimed at targets such as amyloid, tau, etc. A unified model of age-related CNS dysfunction needs to offer a framework for not only age-related human CNS diseases – including Alzheimer’s and other age-related human dementias -- but for age-related CNS dysfunction in animals as well. The model detailed here, focusing on cell senescence and the concomitant changes in gene expression, encompasses both human and animal disease and suggests a novel point of clinical intervention.
Summary: A unified systems model of age-related dementias is consistent with all clinical data, explains and accurately predicts the outcomes of human trials (more than 1,100 of which have failed), and offers a novel and feasible point of intervention that promises an effective cure for Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias.