By Alex Mitchell

The exciting achievement came about after researchers were able to interfere with an enzyme typically found to be overactive in the brains of Alzheimer's patients.

The hyperactive enzyme, CDK5, was treated with an unnamed peptide, or string of amino acids.

Early tests conducted on mice revealed significant — and promising — results.

"This peptide has the ability to enter the brain and in a couple of different models, the peptide shows protective effects against loss of neurons and also appears to be able to rescue some of the behavior deficits," study author Li-Huei Tsai, director of MIT's Picower Institute for Learning and Memory, told The Post.

The hope, with further testing, is that this particular peptide might be a treatment for dementia — particularly dementia brought on by CDK5 overactivity.

The errant enzyme is triggered by a smaller protein called P35, which, in Alzheimer's patients, can become harmful when "cleaved" into a smaller protein known as P25 — which is also connected to Parkinson's disease.