A new study led by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health concluded that the number of patients with Alzheimer’s disease will grow in the next years and will reach more than 106 million by 2050.

“We face a looming global epidemic of Alzheimer’s disease as the world’s population ages,” said the study’s lead author, Ron Brookmeyer, PhD, professor in Biostatistics and chair of the Master of Public Health Program at the Bloomberg School of Public Health. “By 2050, 1 in 85 persons worldwide will have Alzheimer’s disease. However, if we can make even modest advances in preventing Alzheimer’s disease or delay its progression, we could have a huge global public health impact.”

The biggest jump is projected for densely populated Asia, home of almost half of today's Alzheimer's cases, 12.6 million. By 2050, Asia will have 62.8 million of the world's 106 million Alzheimer's patients, the study projects.

Tough, in May this year U.S. scientists have reported to develop a molecule that might lead to the first drug treatment for Alzheimer's disease. The molecule, designed by Purdue University Professor Arun Ghosh, inhibits the first step in a chain of events leading to amyloid plaque formation in the brain.

"Interdisciplinary research and the tools available today allowed us to build a molecule that is both highly potent and highly selective," said Ghosh.

Tang discovered a key enzyme called memapsin 2, or beta-secretase, is involved in the development of Alzheimer's disease. The action of that enzyme on a special protein, called the amyloid precursor protein, leads to the formation of plaques in the brain.