Check Up: Alzheimer’s preventable’ - here’s what you must do; and recent ASX biotech winners
A University of SA scientist says that in most cases dementia is ‘preventable’, saying lifestyle choices that affect gut bacteria are an important factor.
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The phrase “you are what you eat” was coined almost a century before Alois Alzheimer made his breakthrough in identifying the brain disease, but the evidence is now clear that diet can affect the brain.
Scientists have dug into how gut bacteria might be causing Alzheimer’s disease, with recent results linking the illness with an unhealthy gut.
Aussie scientists are diving into the study too, trying to figure out how those harmful gut bacteria can actually sneak into the head and mess with our brains, leading to dementia.
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Dr Ibrahim Javed from the University of South Australia says these tiny gut bacteria bits can indeed make their way to the brain, causing all kinds of inflammation that could set off Alzheimer’s.
In younger people this is less likely because the blood-brain barrier is much stronger, but as people age, the brain-barrier weakens, allowing harmful substances to damage neurons.
In addition, as the microbiome in the gut ages, it also loses the ability to fight disease.
However, Dr Javed believes we could slow down or stop Alzheimer’s by figuring out how bad bacteria damage neurons with their metabolites, and then creating drugs to block them.
Alzheimer’s is “preventable”
Researchers are also looking into how probiotics and dietary supplements - which contain good bacteria - can fight off bad bacteria and stop harmful substances from leaking out of the gut.
“Our research indicates that harmful gut bacteria can trigger early onset dementia, as well as accelerate dementia in patients already battling the neurodegenerative disease,” Dr Javed said.
“A poor diet is one of several factors that harms gut bacteria, increasing your chances of developing dementia.
“Ageing, lack of exercise, exposure to pesticides and genetics also play a role, although the latter is responsible for a very small number of cases.
“In most cases, dementia is preventable,” said Dr Javed.
Dr Javed adds that while many bacteria are harmless and some are actually good for us, bad bacteria can form biofilms that lead to gut infections, chronic diseases, colon cancer, and even brain disorders.
Alzheimer’s disease affects up to 55 million people worldwide and with an ageing population, this number is expected to double every 20 years, according to Alzheimer’s Disease International.
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Early onset dementia, which starts before age 65, is becoming more common around the world.
But the good news now is that it’s mostly caused by things we can avoid, at least in part - like eating junk food, living a sedentary lifestyle, smoking, alcohol, and being exposed to nasty stuff such aspesticides and air pollution.
ASX biotech winners
LTR PHARMA (ASX:LTP)
LTR Pharma rose by over 20 per cent on May 22 on no specific news.
However the company’s shares have been heading upwards since it announced in late March that all patients recruited for its pivotal bio-equivalence clinical study of SPONTAN nasal spray had received their second and final dose, completing the recruitment and dosing stage of the clinical study.
SPONTAN is a unique nasal delivery technology that bypasses the digestive system and is designed to overcome the issues of oral tablets for ED (erectile dysfunction).
It works by having a significantly faster onset of action of just 10 minutes.
The study is a critical milestone in LTR’s path to commercialisation.
Data collected will used to support the pre-submission meetings with the FDA and prescriptions of SPONTAN via the early access scheme in Australia.
MESOBLAST (ASX:MSB)
Mesoblast has reduced costs and payroll, allowing its Phase 3 programs for SR-aGVHD (steroid-refractory acute graft-versus-host disease) and CLBP (chronic lower back pain) to continue this quarter.
Net operating cash spend was $US11.7 million for the quarter. This is a 28 per cent reduction from the same quarter last year.
The goal is to reduce net operating spend by 23 per cent ($15 million) in FY24 compared to FY23. Some of these savings will be reinvested in commercial and clinical activities for SR-aGVHD and CLBP.
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BEAMTREE (ASX:BMT)
In Q3 FY24, Beamtree performed as expected, showing a revenue growth of over 20 per cent and a positive operating profit for FY24.
For the quarter, the ARR (annual recurring revenue) was over $25 million, up 20 per cent year on year.
Group revenue grew by 21 per cent for the first nine months of FY24, compared to 24 per cent in the same period last year.
Customer renewal rates remained high at over 95 per cent, indicating low churn.
Operating costs grew by 12 per cent, mainly due to investments in products and international expansion.
Beamtree had an operating profit of $0.1 million in Q3 FY24, compared to a $0.5 million loss in Q3 FY23.
Cash at the end of March was $4.3 million.
MEDADVISOR (ASX:MDR)
MedAdvisor jumped 15 per cent on Wednesday after providing guidance for the full year ending this June.
Based on the strong start to Q4 FY24 and anticipated activity levels over the remainder of this quarter, the company expects to deliver positive revenue, EBITDA and NPAT for the full year.
Revenue is set to come in between $120 million and $123 million, a record (versus $98 million in the pcp).
EBITDA is set to come in between $6.8 million and $7.6 million (versus loss of $3 million in the pcp).
NPAT is set to come in between $500,000 and $800,000, the firm’s first profit, (versus loss of $11.3 million in the pcp).
This content first appeared on stockhead.com.au
At Stockhead we tell it like it is. While LTR Pharma is a Stockhead advertiser, it did not sponsor this article.
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Originally published as Check Up: Alzheimer’s preventable’ - here’s what you must do; and recent ASX biotech winners
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