Research shows memory retrieval in mice with Alzheimer’s
A drug similar to one used in clinical trials for treatment of rheumatoid arthritis and psoriasis has demonstrated the ability to rescue memory in mice exhibiting Alzheimer’s symptoms.
The new research, conducted by the University of California – Irvine (UCI- Irvine) in conjunction with Australian scientists, offers hope that effective treatment for people in the early stages of Alzheimer’s may be available in the near future.
The drug, called PMX205, was shown to prevent inflamed immune cells from collecting in the regions of the brain with Alzheimer’s lesions. The lesions are called amyloid plaques.
For 12 weeks, researchers added PMX205 to the drinking water of mice genetically altered to develop age-related Alzheimer’s-like symptoms. The treatment occurred at an age when amyloid plaques were accumulating in their brains.
Scientists gave the treated mice learning and memory tests and then examined their brains for evidence of the disease. Alzheimer’s mice that were not given the drug performed significantly worse on the test than normal mice. With only one exception, the treated Alzheimer’s mice performed almost as well as the normal mice.
The mice with the rescued cognitive ability had more than 50 percent fewer Alzheimer’s lesions and inflammatory immune cells than the untreated diseased mice.
The UCI- Irvine researchers collaborated with Australian scientists Trent Woodruff and Steve Taylor, who demonstrated the drug’s effectiveness in rat models of other diseases.
The research was supported by the National Institutes of Health and the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia. Study results are reported in the July 15 edition of the Journal of Immunology.
