The first attempt at gene therapy for Alzheimer’s patients appeared to significantly delay worsening of the disease in a few people who have tested it so far, scientists reported Sunday. Far more research is needed to see if the experimental treatment, which requires a form of brain surgery, really helps. But if the approach pans out, researchers say delivering protective substances, called growth factors, into a diseased brain holds the potential to rescue some dying brain cells. In one patient, the brain tissue showed new growth, which was a first, according to a study published in Sunday’s edition of the journal Nature Medicine.
