A drug that reversed Alzheimer's in mice in only one week will be tested in people this year. The IL-33 protein reversed Alzheimer's-like disease in mice, stopping cognitive decline in its tracks, according to joint research by the University of Glasgow and the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST).
"IL-33 is a protein produced by various cell types in the body and is particularly abundant in the central nervous system — brain and spinal cord," said Professor Eddy Liew of the University of Glasgow. "We carried out experiments in a strain of mice (APP/PS1) which develop progressive AD-like disease with aging.
"We found that injection of IL-33 into aged APP/PS1 mice rapidly improved their memory and cognitive function to that of the age-matched normal mice within a week."
Characteristics of Alzheimer’s include the amyloid plaque deposits and the formation of neurofibrillary tangles in the brain. As the disease progresses, plaques and tangles build, leading to the loss of connections between nerve cells. Eventually, the cells die, which causes the loss of brain tissue.
Researchers believe IL-33 works by mobilizing microglia (immune cells in the brain) to surround amyloid plaques. It produces an enzyme called neprilysin, which destroy plaques by digesting them, thus reducing their number and size.
In addition, the IL-33 treatment reduces inflammation in the brain tissue, which has been shown earlier to encourage plaque and tangle formation. Therefore, IL-33 helps to clear the amyloid plaque already formed and also prevents the formation of new plaques and tangles.
Although the researchers aren't positive the protein will work in humans, they are optimistic. "Previous genetic studies have shown an association between IL-33 mutations and Alzheimer’s disease in European and Chinese populations," said Liew. "Furthermore, the brain of patients with Alzheimer’s disease contains less IL-33 than the brain from non-Alzheimer’s patients.
"Exciting as it is, there is some distance between laboratory findings and clinical applications," says Liew. "We are just about entering Phase I clinical trial to test the toxicity of IL-33 at the doses used. Nevertheless, this is a good start."
Liew believes that eventually Alzheimer's patients may be given booster shots of IL-33 to increase their supplies of the protein, much like diabetics are given insulin injections. "It is wonderful stuff," he told Daily Mail. Sometimes, I think it is too good to be true. There have been enough false 'breakthroughs' in the medical field to caution us not to hold our breath until rigorous trials have been done."
The study was published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Currently, Alzheimer's has no known treatment, and the memory-robbing condition affects 5.4 million Americans — 5.2 million of them age 65 and older. The number of victims is expected to skyrocket as baby boomers age, with numbers reaching 16 million by 2050.
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