Dementia reversed in drug test
DEMENTIA has been reversed for the first time using a drug that reduces brain inflammation, scientists announced yesterday.
In a study on mice, researchers found the drug can turn back the cognitive decline that comes with age. The breakthrough could spark a whole new approach to tackling diseases such as Alzheimer’s.
The drug helps “tamp down” damaging inflammation in the brain, which is closely connected to the development of dementia.
Called IPW, the drug was used in experiments on senile mice. After treatment they showed improved brain waves, reduced susceptibility to seizures and became almost as adept at learning new tasks as those half their age.
Scientists behind the study said they were “optimistic” a version of the drug may one day be developed for humans.
Currently, the only drugs available to dementia sufferers treat its symptoms, not its cause.
Senior author Professor Daniela Kaufer, of the University of
California, Berkeley, said: “Age involves loss of function and dead cells. But our new data tell a different story about why the aged brain is not functioning well.
“It is because of inflammatory load.
“But when you remove that inflammatory fog, within days the aged brain acts like a young brain.
“It is a really optimistic finding.We can reverse brain ageing.”
Last night, British research bodies and charities gave a cautious welcome to the new research.
Dr Sara Imarisio, of Alzheimer’s this ‘fog’ of
Research UK, said: “Taking intriguing findings like this forward will help in the search for new drugs that could be the key to treating these devastating brain diseases.”
Dr James Pickett, head of research at Alzheimer’s Society, said: “This study looks at the impact of inflammation on memory and thinking. It’s an emerging exciting field.”
The new study is published Science Translational Medicine.
Alzheimers and other forms of dementia affect 850,000 people in the UK – a figure set to rise to two million by 2050. in