Can Aspirin Treat Alzheimer's Disease?



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PET of a human brain with Alzheimer's disease. Credit: public domain

A low-dose aspirin regimen could potentially reduce plaques in the brain, which will reduce the pathology of Alzheimer's disease and protect memory, according to neurological researchers at Rush University Medical Center, who publish today the results of their study. from The Journal of Neuroscience .

"The results of our study identify a possible new role for one of the most commonly used over-the-counter medications in the world," said Kalipada Pahan, Ph.D., lead author and head of the 39; study. Research Scientist, who is also Floyd A. Davis, MD, Chair of Neurology and Professor of Neurology, Biochemistry and Pharmacology at Rush Medical College.

Alzheimer's disease is a deadly form of dementia that affects up to 1 in 10 Americans aged 65 or older. To date, the FDA has approved very few drugs for the treatment of dementia related to Alzheimer's disease and the drugs that exist can only provide limited symptomatic relief.

The exact cause of progression of Alzheimer's disease is unknown; however, the poor elimination of the toxic beta-amyloid protein in the brain is a major mechanism in dementia and memory loss.

The activation of the cellular machinery responsible for eliminating brain waste is therefore a promising strategy for slowing down Alzheimer's disease. 19659005] Beta-amyloid forms aggregates called amyloid plaques, which damage connections between nerve cells and are one of the major signs of Alzheimer's disease. Building on previous studies demonstrating a link between aspirin and the reduction in risk and prevalence of Alzheimer's disease, Pahan and his colleagues were able to demonstrate that aspirin is decreasing. the pathology of amyloid plaque in mice by stimulating lysosomes. debris.

<a rel = "lightbox" href = "https://3c1703fe8d.site.internapcdn.net/newman/gfx/news/2018/treatingalzh.jpg" title = "Treatment with aspirin reduces the amyloid beta load in hippocampus of 5XFAD mouse model of AD.Cheval: Chandra et al., JNeurosci (2018) ">
 Treatment of Alzheimer's disease with aspirin
Treatment with aspirin reduces the amyloid beta load in the hippocampus of the 5XFAD mouse model of AD. Credit: Chandra et al., JNeurosci (2018)

"Understanding how plaques are cleared is important for developing effective drugs that stop the progression of Alzheimer's disease," Pahan said.

A protein called TFEB is considered the main regulator of waste removal. The researchers administered aspirin orally for one month to genetically modified mice with Alzheimer's disease, then assessed the amount of amyloid plaque in the parts of the brain most affected by the disease. Alzheimer's

. decreased pathology of amyloid plaque in mice.

"This study adds another potential benefit to the already established uses of aspirin for the relief of pain and for the treatment of cardiovascular disease," Pahan said. "More research needs to be completed, but the results of our study have major potential implications for the therapeutic use of aspirin in AD and other dementia-related diseases."


Learn more:
New tools could reveal important answers for Alzheimer's researchers

More information:
Sujyoti Chandra et al, aspirin induces lysosomal biogenesis and attenuates the pathology of amyloid plaque in a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease via PPARα, The Journal of Neuroscience (2018) . DOI: 10.1523 / JNEUROSCI.0054-18.2018, dx.doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0054-18.2018

Journal Reference:
Neuroscience Journal

Source:
Rush University Medical Center

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