Sildenafil and shingles vaccine show surprising promise against Alzheimer’s, suggests study

Researchers have pinpointed three already approved medications that may be repurposed to treat or prevent Alzheimer’s disease. Instead of starting from scratch, scientists examined medicines that are currently used for other conditions to see whether any could help protect the brain.

The study, funded by Alzheimer’s Society and led by the University of Exeter, was published in Alzheimer’s Research and Therapy. Among the drugs reviewed, a shingles vaccine (Zostavax) emerged as the most promising candidate. Viagra (sildenafil) and a medication used to treat motor neurone disease (riluzole) also showed strong potential.

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Researchers explore surgical treatment’s potential in Alzheimer’s

Researchers are calling for more studies to determine whether lymphovenous anastomosis (LVA), a surgical procedure that helps clear molecular waste from the brain, might benefit people with Alzheimer’s disease.

“LVA represents a novel therapeutic strategy that may complement existing treatments, offering new hope for addressing the [disease biology] of [Alzheimer’s disease]. Through collaborative, long-term clinical trials, LVA may emerge not only as an adjunct to current [Alzheimer’s] therapies but also as a potential treatment avenue for other neurodegenerative diseases,” Khong Yik Chew, MD, a senior consultant at Singapore General Hospital, said in a press release.

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Scientists reverse Alzheimer’s in mice and restore memory

Alzheimer’s has long been considered irreversible, but new research challenges that assumption. Scientists discovered that severe drops in the brain’s energy supply help drive the disease—and restoring that balance can reverse damage, even in advanced cases. In mouse models, treatment repaired brain pathology, restored cognitive function, and normalized Alzheimer’s biomarkers. The results offer fresh hope that recovery may be possible.

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The new pathway from the scavenger protein that cleans neurons

Like in a big city. In our organism, if the collection of waste is blocked, it accumulates. If the lack of cleanliness affects the nerve cells, of course, this can have repercussions. So what? Then it makes sense to rely on those who naturally help certain neurons to eliminate the tau protein, which is linked to Alzheimer’s disease and other neurodegenerative disorders.

The ‘scavenger’ protein is produced as a result of instructions in the DNA gene that, in turn, stimulates the production of a kind of invisible protein ‘tag’ (CRL5SOCS4) for tau.

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How to reverse early dementia symptoms — by a neuroscientist

After being told they were in the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease, some of Dr Majid Fotuhi’s patients were preparing to put their affairs in order. Then his advice changed everything for them. 

One of the leading neuroscientists in America, Fotuhi, 63, fled post-revolutionary Iran for Canada in 1982, before moving to the US and completing his PhD in neuroscience at Johns Hopkins University. He attended Harvard Medical School, returning to Johns Hopkins for his neurology residency. There, in the early 2000s, that he began to question the prevailing orthodoxy. 

He realised that many people were being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s who didn’t yet need to be. “They had treatable conditions that were contributing to cognitive decline, yet their problems were being put down to plaques and tangles,” he says.

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Enhanced brain cells clear away dementia-related proteins

WashU Medicine researchers designed a cellular immunotherapy that turns astrocytes (green), a type of cell in the brain, into super cleaners that sweep away Alzheimer’s-related proteins. With this new feature, the cells successfully reduced the amount of harmful amyloid beta plaques (blue) in the brains of mice.

The new generation of Alzheimer’s disease drugs — the first proven to change the course of the disease — typically extend independent living for patients by 10 months. Called monoclonal antibodies, they reduce the accumulations of a harmful protein, amyloid, in the brain and require high-dose, once- or twice-monthly infusions of the medication.

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