A team of researchers from the University of Barcelona has developed a promising new drug that may help treat Alzheimer’s disease, the most common cause of dementia.
Their study, published in ACS Pharmacology & Translational Science, shows that the drug can reduce brain inflammation and protect nerve cells in mice with Alzheimer’s.
Currently, Alzheimer’s disease has no cure, and existing drugs only offer limited help in the early stages.
This new discovery could be a big step forward for more effective treatment options, especially since the disease affects over 800,000 people in Spain and millions worldwide.
For many years, scientists have focused on treating Alzheimer’s by targeting beta-amyloid plaques—sticky protein clumps that build up in the brain. But these strategies haven’t worked well in clinical trials.
Now, researchers are taking a different path. There’s growing evidence that neuroinflammation—inflammation in the brain—plays a major role in causing and worsening Alzheimer’s. The new drug works by blocking an enzyme called sEH (soluble epoxide hydrolase), which is involved in inflammation and pain regulation in the body.
By blocking this enzyme, the drug increases the levels of natural molecules in the brain called EETs (epoxyeicosatrienoic acids). These molecules help reduce inflammation, improve blood flow in the brain, and protect neurons (nerve cells).
The researchers tested the drug in two different mouse models of Alzheimer’s. They found that it helped the mice perform better in memory tasks, preserved the health of neurons, and improved brain function overall.
Even more impressive, the positive effects lasted even one month after stopping the treatment, suggesting that the drug might actually slow down or change the course of the disease—not just reduce symptoms.
Many anti-inflammatory drugs have been tested in Alzheimer’s, but they haven’t worked well. The new drug stands out because it acts on several inflammation-related pathways at once, not just one.
In tests, it even worked better than ibuprofen, a common anti-inflammatory drug, in mouse models of the disease.
Although the results are exciting, the researchers caution that there’s still a long way to go before the drug can be used in humans. New drugs must pass through many stages of testing to prove they are safe and effective, which can take many years.
The compound’s patent has been licensed to a U.S. pharmaceutical company that will help move the drug forward into preclinical and clinical trials. The University of Barcelona team will continue to advise the project as expert consultants.
“This gives us the chance to keep working on this promising treatment and hopefully bring it closer to helping real patients,” said lead researchers Mercè Pallàs and Santiago Vázquez.
This research brings new hope for a better way to fight Alzheimer’s disease—by calming the brain’s inflammation and protecting its neurons.
If you care about Alzheimer’s disease, please read studies that bad lifestyle habits can cause Alzheimer’s disease, and strawberries can be good defence against Alzheimer’s.
For more information about brain health, please see recent studies that oral cannabis extract may help reduce Alzheimer’s symptoms, and Vitamin E may help prevent Parkinson’s disease.
Source: KSR.
