‘Vampire therapy’ aid for dementia
Transfusions of blood from young people can reverse some of the symptoms of dementia, according to scientists trialling what has become known as ‘‘vampire therapy’’.
They infused blood plasma taken from 18 to 30-year-olds into people with signs of moderate dementia who then regained some of their everyday skills, such as the ability to bathe and dress themselves or do shopping and housework.
‘‘There were hints of improvement on tests of functional ability,’’ said Sharon Sha, associate professor of neurology and neurological sciences at Stanford University in California, who led the trial.
‘‘These included the capacity to perform basic tasks essential to independent daily life such as remembering to take medications and being able to pay bills and prepare one’s own meals.’’
About 850,000 Britons have dementia, with Alzheimer’s disease being the most common form. It kills brain cells, damaging memory and the ability to think straight, speak and organise oneself. There is no cure for Alzheimer’s at present but there is growing evidence that the risk of developing it is reduced by lifestyle factors such as exercising, eating well and staying socially and mentally active. Illnesses such as diabetes, high blood pressure and depression may increase the risk.
Sha’s research followed earlier animal studies – which were also conducted at Stanford – that showed the blood of young mice could rejuvenate the brains of old mice, causing a burst of cell growth in the hippocampus, which is central to memory.
The same studies, by Professor Tony Wyss-Coray, also showed that if young mice were infused with blood from older ones, their brains started ageing rapidly.
This suggested factors in the blood have a powerful effect on the brain, affecting the rate at which it ages and repairs itself.
In the new human trial, 18 people with mild to moderate Alzheimer’s were given a battery of tests to measure their cognition, mood and functional ability.
Then they were given regular infusions of plasma, the liquid part of blood, with all cells removed, with the tests repeated during and at the end of the trial.
Such small trials are normally carried out to test for safety, rather than to see whether or not a treatment works, but Sha found that there were unexpected but measurable improvements in dayto-day skills.
There were, however, no noticeable improvements in patients’ mood or cognition.
‘‘Our enthusiasm concerning these findings needs to be tempered by the fact that this was a small trial,’’ Sha said. ‘‘But these results do warrant further study.’’