This anesthetic gas could be the next big treatment for Alzheimer’s disease

The next Alzheimer’s cure may come from an unexpected place. In new research released this week, scientists have found evidence in mice that xenon gas may be able to help treat the neurodegenerative condition.

Scientists at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and the University of Washington led the research. published Wednesday in Science Translational Medicine. In mice with Alzheimer’s-like disease, xenon gas has been shown to reduce inflammation and brain shrinkage. Researchers are now embarking on early human trials to further test the treatment’s potential.

Xenon gas is already used in medicine as an anesthetic agent and medical imaging agent. Research also suggests that xenon can help Brain protectionSome studies have tried its use as a treatment for depression and other brain-related disorders (unfortunately, depression research has been… Mixed bag yet). Because xenon can easily pass through the blood-brain barrier—a shield that keeps the brain safe from infection but also prevents most drugs from reaching it—scientists were interested in knowing whether xenon could also protect the brains of people with Alzheimer’s disease.

Researchers tested inhaled xenon on two types of mice designed to develop the brain destruction seen in Alzheimer’s disease. In these mice, the gas appeared to activate a protective response from unique immune cells in the brain, called microglia, and this activation in turn helped their brains ward off harmful changes associated with Alzheimer’s disease. For example, mice experienced lower levels of brain inflammation and atrophy. The researchers also observed promising signs of reduced amyloid plaque, one of the biomarkers strongly linked to the development of Alzheimer’s disease.

“It’s a very new discovery that shows that just inhaling an inert gas can have such a profound neuroprotective effect,” senior researcher Oleg Butovsky, a neurologist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, said in a recent study. statement From General Brigham’s Mass. “One of the major limitations in Alzheimer’s disease research and treatment is that it is very difficult to design drugs that can cross the blood-brain barrier, but xenon does.”

Although these results are based only on mice, they are convincing enough for researchers to take things a step further. Team A is scheduled to launch Phase I trial In the next few months, the safety and immunomodulatory effects of xenon will be tested in healthy humans. Looking to the future, this discovery could pave the way for new possibilities in harnessing the potential of xenon for brain healing.

“If the clinical trial goes well, the chances of using xenon are great,” said co-author Howard Weiner, co-director of the Ann Romney Center for Neurological Diseases at Brigham & Women’s and the principal investigator on the new trial. statement. “It could open the door to new treatments to help patients with neurological diseases.”

Although there have been some important advances in treating Alzheimer’s disease over the years, today’s best medications still provide only a modest effect in slowing the progression of the disorder. So new treatments that can attack Alzheimer’s from a different angle would be very welcome. Currently, about 7 million Americans belief Living with Alzheimer’s disease – a number that could double by 2050.