Peptides as Potential Therapeutics for Alzheimer’s Disease

Estimates show that around 5.8 million people are currently living with Alzheimer’s disease in the United States, and it’s the sixth-leading cause of death among Americans. Someone in the U.S. receives an Alzheimer’s diagnosis roughly every 65 seconds. It’s also a widely accepted fact that most people will eventually develop the disease if they live long enough.

It’s easy to see why the effective management of the disease is of great importance to us, as the number of people it affects across the country — both directly and indirectly — is staggering. The worldwide figures are just as shocking as those for America.

The development of therapeutics for Alzheimer’s has been a considerable movement in the pharmaceutical industry over the past 20-plus years. A disease that has affected so many millions of people is bound to inspire progress like this eventually. 

However, this can lead us to wonder about natural solutions to the problem we face. Sometimes there are better and less-obvious methods for managing symptoms and halting progress than we may first think. One of these methods is the prospect of finding a natural way to provide therapy for Alzheimer’s.

Existing Treatments

Doctors may prescribe many different tried-and-tested drugs for those with the affliction, most of which are symptomatic. But there are also new and promising natural ways to manage the disease. In recent years, peptide-based drugs have come into development and represent a large class of therapeutic medicines for the treatment of Alzheimer’s and other similar neurodegenerative diseases.

Like all natural medicines, peptide-based therapeutics offer an appealing, healthy way to manage the symptoms and progression of a disease. They are also readily available and easy to obtain, as you can buy peptides online.

What Are Peptides?

In simple terms, peptides are short chains of naturally occurring chemicals called amino-acids. Amino-acids are the main components of the proteins that make up the biological matter that our bodies create and use for a multitude of processes. Coincidentally, peptides within the brain are also the cause of Alzheimer’s disease. 

The build-up of amyloid peptides (used to facilitate the creation of neural pathways within the brain) on synapses over a long period is what ultimately leads to memory degradation, as the neurons lose the ability to communicate.

Can Peptides Help?

Research has suggested that peptide-based drugs administered intranasally (through the nose) may be able to modify the progress of an individual’s symptoms providing that they’re applied in a personalized and stage-specific manner. As Alzheimer’s is a multifactorial disease, it’s essential to consider each individual’s case for treatment. There is not necessarily a “one size fits all” peptide solution for therapy. 

Conclusion

Scientific studies have promoted the use of peptides for Alzheimer’s therapy. Still, there is no conclusive proof in any clinical trial that they can provide any actual reliable benefits at this point. However, they certainly look promising, and we will hopefully hear more about them in the coming years so that we can consider them as a viable natural therapeutic option.