In a lab at the University of Texas at San Antonio, scientists are re-examining an old disease in a new way.

Instead of focusing on the consequences of Alzheimer’s, these scientists are studying its causes in hopes of finding a way to prevent the onset. 

The disease robs people of their memories and ability to function, and slowly kills them in what should be their golden years.

“Alzheimer’s not only affects the patient, but affects families, affects society and billions and billions of dollars cost for, you know, economy,” UTSA researcher Dr. Gjumrackch Aliev said.

Aliev says knowledge in the cardiovascular field is transferring to breakthroughs in Alzheimer’s.

Animals are bred to develop neurodegenerative problems with age. Then after being given an oral antioxidant therapy to help with ischemia — a decrease in blood supply — their brain function improved.

“We’re able to not only repair structural lesions in the brain, but memory is returned back to normal and also, animals live much longer,” Aliev said.

Other preliminary works show that in animal models, stem cells derived from bone marrow may serve as a novel tool for brain vascular regeneration, providing doctors with yet another avenue to help repair damage that’s already been caused in people with Alzheimer’s.

Aliev believes science is on the cusp of some very important developments in attacking this costly disease.

New discoveries for the treatment of Alzheimer’s could well be related to better therapies for other vascular diseases, like atherosclerosis, strokes and coronary artery disease.