Nanoparticle Treatment Reverses Alzheimer’s in Mice

Scientists have developed a nanoparticle-based treatment that successfully reversed Alzheimer’s disease in mice.

As detailed in a new paper published in the journal Signal transduction and targeted therapyThe team, co-led by the Bioengineering Institute of Catalonia, Spain (IBEC), and West China Hospital of Sichuan University, has developed bioactive “supramolecular drugs” that can proactively repair the blood-brain barrier.

The barrier plays an important role in brain health, protecting it from harmful substances and other pathogens. Alzheimer’s disease has been linked to a weakening of the integrity of the barrier, allowing weakened toxins to pass through.

More specifically, the disease causes a “waste” protein, called amyloid beta, to build up in the brain by disrupting its normal filtering system. The team’s approach allows these protein molecules to pass through the blood-brain barrier and be eliminated through the bloodstream.

In a series of experiments, the team used mice whose genes had been compromised and which produce large amounts of the protein, thus showing Alzheimer’s-like decline in cognitive function.

Administered doses of the supramolecular drugs caused protein levels to drop almost immediately in the brains of the mice.

“Just one hour after the injection, we observed a 50-60 percent reduction in the amount of amyloid beta within the brain,” co-author and researcher at West China Hospital of Sichuan University said in a statement.

It’s a promising new approach to treating a disease that affects more than seven million Americans ages 65 and older. If no progress is made, this number could rise to nearly 14 million by 2060, according to a 2024 study.

“Several treatments have been designed to remove amyloid beta, the sticky protein that accumulates in Alzheimer’s disease brains,” said lead researcher and IBEC Research Professor Giuseppe Battaglia. United Press International. “Some of these medications can clear up the plaques, but that alone has not stopped the memory loss or slowed the disease enough.”

He added: “Our work suggests a different approach: Instead of focusing solely on removing errors that have already occurred within the brain, we aim to repair the system that keeps the brain healthy in the first place – the blood vessels and the protective barrier.”

What’s particularly exciting is that the researchers found that the mice’s cognitive improvement was significant. The mouse, which they said was roughly equivalent to a 90-year-old human, “recovered the behavior of a healthy mouse” after receiving the treatment six months earlier.

“The long-term effect comes from the restoration of blood vessels in the brain,” Battaglia explained in the statement. “We think it works like a cascade: when toxic species like amyloid beta accumulate, the disease progresses. But once the blood vessels are able to function again, they start removing Aβ and other harmful molecules, allowing the entire system to regain its balance.”

“What is remarkable is that our nanoparticles act as a drug and appear to activate a feedback mechanism that restores this filtering pathway to normal levels,” he added.

Supramolecular drugs reset the brain’s ability to pass amyloid beta across the blood-brain barrier by mimicking the normal processes interrupted by Alzheimer’s disease.

By rejuvenating waste elimination pathways, the drugs allow harmful protein levels to decrease, while at the same time preserving the brain’s vascular system for improved brain function.

“Restoring this barrier improves blood flow, reduces inflammation, and helps the brain regain balance,” Battaglia said. Unified Payment Interface (UPI).. “This approach could more effectively slow the progression of Alzheimer’s disease by treating one of its early and most overlooked causes: the breakdown of the brain’s own defense system.”

However, we still have a lot of research to do before we can try similar methods in humans with Alzheimer’s disease.

“There are many ongoing efforts in animal models to find innovative ways to cross the BBB to improve the efficiency and precision of drug delivery,” said Courtney Closkey, director of scientific engagement at the Alzheimer’s Association. Unified Payment Interface (UPI).“But we are still far from proving that these technologies are safe and effective in humans.”

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