Category: Dementia

Mouse study reverses memory loss in mice with Alzheimer’s.

Memory loss caused by Alzheimer’s disease has been reversed in mice, reports a new study.

Alzheimer’s disease — the most common form of dementia –results from both genetic and environmental factors, and is currently untreatable.

Scientists have discovered, though, that the disease interferes with electrical signalling in part of the brain responsible for memory.

Using techniques based on epigenetics, the researchers were able to reverse the memory loss.

Epigenetics involves how instructions contained in DNA are expressed in cells.

Professor Zhen Yan, the study’s first author, said:

“We have not only identified the epigenetic factors that contribute to the memory loss, we also found ways to temporarily reverse them in an animal model of AD.”

The scientists found that Alzheimer’s caused neurons in the frontal cortex to gradually lose glutamate receptors.

By inhibiting an enzyme, they were able to restore memory in mice.

Professor Yan said:

“When we gave the Alzheimer’s animals this enzyme inhibitor, we saw the rescue of cognitive function confirmed through evaluations of recognition memory, spatial memory and working memory.

We were quite surprised to see such dramatic cognitive improvement.

At the same time, we saw the recovery of glutamate receptor expression and function in the frontal cortex.”

While the drug only worked on the mice for one week, it is hoped the method can be refined to make it more powerful.

Epigenetics is powerful because it can target the effects of more than one gene, said Professor Yan:

“An epigenetic approach can correct a network of genes, which will collectively restore cells to their normal state and restore the complex brain function.

We have provided evidence showing that abnormal epigenetic regulation of glutamate receptor expression and function did contribute to cognitive decline in Alzheimer’s disease.

If many of the dysregulated genes in AD are normalized by targeting specific epigenetic enzymes, it will be possible to restore cognitive function and behavior.”

The study was published in the journal Brain (Yan et al., 2019).

The drug healed synaptic connections in the brain and memories were partially restored.

A new drinkable cocktail of drugs provides hope for stopping the progression of Alzheimer’s.

An old antibiotic — called Suprax — has been shown to reverse the memory problems linked to Alzheimer’s.

Now that the study on mice has been successful, the team hope to go on and test it on Alzheimer’s patients.

There are currently no drugs that effectively treat Alzheimer’s, only therapies that may help slow cognitive decline and reduce symptoms.

The team — based at Yale University — have been searching for compounds that will interfere with the first stages of the disease.

Professor Stephen Strittmatter, study co-author, said:

“We wanted to find molecules that might have a therapeutic effect on this network.”

After screening thousands of different compounds, they came across an old antibiotic, known as Suprax.

This seemed to have the desired effect of stopping Alzheimer’s in its tracks.

The tests on mice showed that the compound healed synaptic connections in the brain and their memories were partially restored.

The next step is to check that the compound is not toxic before human trials can begin.

The study was published in the journal Cell Reports (Gunther et al., 2019).

The simple self-treatment that prevents Alzheimer’s disease.

A simple daily regimen of the common painkiller ibuprofen along with dietary adjustments could prevent the onset of Alzheimer’s disease, new research concludes.

Ibuprofen is a widely available nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory that does not require a prescription.

The drug, along with adopting the Mediterranean diet and a healthy intake of antioxidants, could stop the disease in its tracks.

Until recently the problem has been identifying the disease early enough to take action.

Alzheimer’s is thought to begin around 10 years before any cognitive symptoms are noticeable.

The author of the new research, Dr Patrick McGeer (and colleagues), have developed a simple saliva test that can predict the onset of Alzheimer’s.

Dr Patrick McGeer, study co-author, explained:

“Knowing that the prevalence of clinical Alzheimer’s Disease commences at age 65, we recommend that people get tested ten years before, at age 55, when the onset of Alzheimer’s would typically begin.

If they exhibit elevated Abeta 42 levels then, that is the time to begin taking daily ibuprofen to ward off the disease.

Abeta 42 refers to a protein secreted in the saliva that is elevated in people at risk of developing Alzheimer’s.

It could provide the vital clue to start treatment early, Dr McGeer said:

“Unfortunately, most clinical trials to date have focused on patients whose cognitive deficits are already mild to severe, and when the therapeutic opportunities in this late stage of the disease are minimal.

Consequently, every therapeutic trial has failed to arrest the disease’s progression.

Our discovery is a game changer.

We now have a simple test that can indicate if a person is fated to develop Alzheimer’s disease long before it begins to develop. Individuals can prevent that from happening through a simple solution that requires no prescription or visit to a doctor.

This is a true breakthrough since it points in a direction where AD can eventually be eliminated.”

The study was published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease (McGeer & McGeer, 2018).

When the microglia stop working properly, the brain begins to degrade.

A low-fat diet and restricting calorie intake helps reduce brain aging in mice, new research finds.

Eating around 40% less food helped preserve the brain in old age even better than exercise.

Dr Bart Eggen, who led the study, said:

“Obesity and aging are both prevalent and increasing in societies worldwide, but the consequences for the central nervous system are not well understood

We determined if a high- or low-fat diet, in combination with exercise and food restriction, impacted microglia during aging in mice.”

The microglia are cells in the brain that help regulate normal functioning.

When these cells stop working properly, the brain begins to degrade.

For the study mice were either fed a high- or low-fat diet — with some receiving 40% fewer calories than normal.

Some also did plenty of exercise.

Dr Eggen explained the results:

“Aging-induced inflammatory activation of microglia could only be prevented when mice were fed a low-fat diet in combination with limited caloric intake.

A low-fat diet per se was not sufficient to prevent these changes.”

The researchers hope to look at the effects of different diets.

Dr Eggen said:

“Nevertheless, these data do show that, in mice, the fat content of a diet is an important parameter in terms of the detrimental effects of aging on the brain, as well as caloric intake.

Only when fat content and caloric intake are limited, can aging-induced changes in microglia be prevented.”

The study was published in the journal Frontiers in Molecular Neuroscience (Yin et al., 2018).