MEDICAL EXPRE
Diagram of the brain of a person with Alzheimer’s Disease IMAGE/Wikipedia/public domain
A research project has shown that an experimental model of Alzheimer’s disease can be successfully treated with a commonly used anti-inflammatory drug.
A team led by Dr David Brough from The University of Manchester found that the anti-inflammatory drug completely reversed memory loss and brain inflammation in mice.
Nearly everybody will at some point in their lives take non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs; mefenamic acid, a common Non-Steroidal Anti Inflammatory Drug (NSAID), is routinely used for period pain.
The findings are published today in a paper authored by Dr Brough and colleagues, in the respected journal Nature Communications. Dr Brough and Dr Catherine Lawrence supervised PhD student Mike Daniels, and postdoc Dr Jack Rivers-Auty who conducted most of the experiments.
Though this is the first time a drug has been shown to target this inflammatory pathway, highlighting its importance in the disease model, Dr Brough cautions that more research is needed to identify its impact on humans, and the long-term implications of its use.
The research, funded by the Medical Research Council and the Alzheimer’s Society, paves the way for human trials which the team hope to conduct in the future.
Around 500,000 people in the UK have Alzheimer’s disease which gets worse over time, affecting many aspects of their lives, including the ability to remember, think and make decisions.
In the study transgenic mice that develop symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease were used. One group of 10 mice was treated with mefenamic acid, and 10 mice were treated in the same way with a placebo.
The mice were treated at a time when they had developed memory problems and the drug was given to them by a mini-pump implanted under the skin for one month.
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