Groundbreaking Alzheimer’s disease stem cell therapy trial.
A stem cell therapy trial is being conducted to lower neuroinflammation in patients with presymptomatic Alzheimer’s disease. Dementia is brought on by plaques and tangles that form in the brain as a result of beta-amyloid and tau deposits in Alzheimer’s disease. The Alzheimer’s Association estimates that 6 to 9 million Americans 65 and older suffer from Alzheimer’s disease dementia.
In the disease, beta-amyloid and tau proteins appear first, frequently for decades, and then inflammation, which causes cell death. Although we have effective drugs to remove amyloid and slow the disease’s progression, they cannot reverse it. We think it hasn’t stopped because inflammation-induced downstream damage has already begun. Therefore, we may be able to prevent or drastically lower the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease if we can eliminate both beta-amyloid and inflammation.
The stem cells used in this Phase Ib/IIa open-label study are extracted from the patient’s own fat, processed by Hope Biosciences, a Sugar Land company, and then returned to the patient in four infusions spread out over 13 weeks. Twelve patients will be enrolled in the study, which is supported by the Weston Brain Institute in Canada. To ascertain whether stem cells mitigate the primary cause of brain cell loss in Alzheimer’s disease before symptoms appear, PET imaging sensitive to brain inflammation will be employed. Co-investigators include clinical research
We weren’t sure if stem cells could help in a neurodegenerative disease where the blood-brain barrier stays closed because the blood-brain barrier opens up with TBI and stroke. However, according to Schulz, the Umphrey Family Professor in Neurodegenerative Diseases, and the Rick McCord Professor in Neurology, inflammation appears to be the last factor that causes cell death. To determine whether intravenous stem cells would have an impact, researchers at UTHealth Houston started looking at mouse models of Parkinson’s disease. They discovered that after receiving stem cells, the treated mice behaved normally.
According to a different study on stem cells in mice with Alzheimer’s disease alterations, which was also headed by Soto, the mice’s memories were retained and their brain inflammation decreased. Schulz and his colleagues are therefore extremely optimistic that this study will demonstrate that stem cell therapy can lower the risk of developing the disease’s clinical symptoms in people with presymptomatic Alzheimer’s disease. At UTHealth Houston, a stem cell therapy trial is being conducted to lower neuroinflammation in patients with presymptomatic Alzheimer’s disease.
Dementia is brought on by plaques and tangles that form in the brain as a result of beta-amyloid and tau deposits in Alzheimer’s disease. The Alzheimer’s Association estimates that 6 to 9 million Americans 65 and older suffer from Alzheimer’s disease dementia. According to Paul E., the disease is initially caused by beta-amyloid and tau protein, which can persist for decades, and then inflammation, which results in cell death.
Although we have effective drugs to remove amyloid and slow the disease’s progression, they cannot reverse it. We think it hasn’t stopped because inflammation-induced downstream damage has already begun. Therefore, we may be able to prevent or drastically lower the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease if we can eliminate both beta-amyloid and inflammation.
The stem cells used in this Phase Ib/IIa open-label study are extracted from the patient’s own fat, processed by Hope Biosciences, a Sugar Land company, and then returned to the patient in four infusions spread out over 13 weeks. Twelve patients will be enrolled in the study, which is supported by the Weston Brain Institute in Canada. To ascertain whether stem cells mitigate the primary cause of brain cell loss in Alzheimer’s disease before symptoms appear, PET imaging sensitive to brain inflammation will be employed.
We weren’t sure if stem cells could help in a neurodegenerative disease where the blood-brain barrier stays closed because the blood-brain barrier opens up with TBI and stroke. However, according to Schulz, the Umphrey Family Professor in Neurodegenerative Diseases, and the Rick McCord Professor in Neurology, inflammation appears to be the last factor that causes cell death. To determine whether intravenous stem cells would have an impact, researchers at UTHealth Houston started looking at mouse models of Parkinson’s disease. They discovered that after receiving stem cells, the treated mice behaved normally.
According to a different study on stem cells in mice with Alzheimer’s disease alterations, which was also headed by Soto, the mice’s memories were retained and their brain inflammation decreased. Schulz and his colleagues are therefore extremely optimistic that this study will demonstrate that stem cell therapy can lower the risk of developing the disease’s clinical symptoms in people with presymptomatic Alzheimer’s disease.
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