An experimental cell therapy improved learning and memory in mice with Alzheimer’s disease. The results of a study by scientists from the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) were published in the journal Molecular Neurodegeneration.
In patients with Alzheimer’s disease, clumps of amyloid beta protein accumulate in the brain. They prevent nerve cells from transmitting signals to each other. According to one theory, this is what causes irreversible memory loss and behavioral changes characteristic of dementia.
In the new study, scientists in the lab modified the animals’ immune T cells and then injected them into the bloodstream of mice. This slowed the formation of beta-amyloid aggregates and reduced signs of brain inflammation. The mental abilities of the affected mice also improved.
Now scientists plan to find a way to increase the efficiency of the delivery of immune cells to the brain areas most affected by Alzheimer’s disease. The next step is to test this approach in humans.
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