Researchers have developed and are now testing a new chemical showing promising results in an early clinical trial that appears capable of preventing and slowing the progression of frontotemporal dementia.
FTD is the most common cause of dementia in people under the age of 60 and progresses rapidly. At present, there are no approved treatments. The chemical selectively inhibits a brain receptor, sortilin, from breaking a substance called progranulin which regulates lipid metabolism, neuronal survival, neuroinflammation, and lysosomal function. This has the potential (not yet proven) to reduce the development of FTD.
Why is this important to you?
It turns out that several natural compounds that reduce progranulin degradation or increase progranulin production indirectly. Taking these supplements, by implication, should similarly reduce your risk if this type of dementia. The most effective of these are DHA (an omega 3), curcumin and resveratrol or pterostilbene. Other natural inhibitors include quercetin, rutin, green tea EGCG and trehalose, a natural sugar.
It is important that chemical companies continue to develop expensive, adverse effect prone drugs, when their research only proves far safer treatments are available from nature, without the cost and without the adverse effects!