Page 23 - Leisure Living Magazine July 2019

New Ideas, New Treatments,
And Hope
By Theresa Bowen, Ph.D., Email - theesajb@gmail.com
Alzheimer’s is progressive disease that caus- es memory loss and issues with learning and problem solving. Scientists believe early-onset Alzheimer’s is inherited but late-onset is caused by changes in the brain overtime. Late-onset Alzheimer’s is the most common form of the disease and affects individuals over 65. The Na- tional Institute on Aging reports that one-third of all people 85 and older may have Alzheimer’s disease and causes include a combination of life- style, environment, and genetic factors. Alzhei- mer’s disease is marked by protein plaques and tangles in the brain. Immunotherapy treatments have been tested for years as a way to break-down or remove proteins but few antibodies make it through the Blood Brain Barrier (BBB). The bod- ies Blood Brain Barrier keeps out foreign sub- stances (like medications) from fully reaching the brain. One scientist said the BBB is like a ‘locked fence around your home’, just as the fence pro- tects your home the BBB protects your brain. So far current clinical trials focus on the symptoms of Alzheimer’s and have not been very successful because a significant amount of the drugs could not pass through the Blood Brain Barrier (BBB). Safe penetration through the BBB could be a first step in treatments being more successful.
A group of researchers at Australia’s Universi- ty of Queensland are working with ultrasound to open the BBB safely. These scientists think that with better access to the brain many therapies could reduce symptoms and improve memory in Alzheimer’s patients. At the Queensland Brain Institute a team is testing injecting patients with microbubbles and then using ultrasound on the brain to open the BBB to accept immunotherapy agents to enter the brain. This ultrasound therapy was tested in older mice similar to 80-90 year old in humans and the mice showed improvement in memory function and reversal of symptoms in mice after a treatment. Focused ultrasound of- fers a promising new approach. At West Virgin- ia University Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute researchers performed the first procedure in the
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world of a phase II ultrasound trial on a wom- an with Alzheimer’s and she was able to return home the next day. The new treatment involves incisionless surgery and no pharmaceuticals. This represents an important next step in the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease.
In our own area I am very interested in the prog- ress being made at the University of Toledo, Ohio lab (my alumni) in discovering a new treatment for Alzheimer’s disease. They have found a chem- ical called mini-GAGR. This chemical is part of a sugar chain typically found in gelatin-type foods like cake frosting, pudding and jams. This unique sugar chain is able to cross the Blood Brain Barri- er and is approved by the FDA as a food additive. The UT lab has discovered in a mouse model that mini-GAGR improves memory and increases the amount of protein called Nrf2 that regulates the antioxidant system. Along with improving mem- ory it decreases plaques and tangles in cell struc- tures. The treating of the mouse model is done with the mini-GAGR in the form of a nasal spray. The nasal spray reaches the brain faster than tra- ditional pill medications. Their goal is to enter hu- man clinical trials.
Even a glimmer of hope in discoveries and new approaches to slow down the progression of Alz- heimer’s disease or a possible cure in sight can be mind-altering for all of us, no pun intended.
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