A first-in-human clinical trial to assess the potential of stem cell therapy in treating and preventing Alzheimer’s begins at the University of Texas. Taken from patients’ adipose tissue, these cells will be turned into neurons and reinfused in an attempt to slow or block disease progression. Twelve volunteers with early signs of cognitive decline will take part in the study, which opens up new horizons in the battle against dementia.
Stem cells could bring new hope for a cure for Alzheimer’s disease. A first-in-human clinical trial is now under way in Houston, in the United States.
The research is led by a team at UTHealth (University of Texas Health Science Center), a major US academic medical centre. Adipose tissue will be taken from the first 12 volunteers with early signs of cognitive decline but as yet no severe symptoms. Mesenchymal stem cells will then be extracted from these samples.
After being treated in the lab with genetic engineering techniques, the cells, induced to become neurons, will be given back to the patients in four intravenous infusions over 13 weeks. The researchers hope that they will release neuroprotective and anti-inflammatory factors, thus creating a more favourable environment in the brain for regeneration.
Brain inflammation: a silent enemy that causes Alzheimer’s
The research is based on the idea of intervening before Alzheimer’s damage becomes irreversible.
The disease is caused by deposits of two abnormal proteins in the brain: beta-amyloid and tau. Abnormal forms of these proteins build up gradually in the brain, forming plaques and tangles that damage the nerve cells over time. According to the experts, there’s also another silent enemy at play: brain inflammation, triggered by the proteins themselves.
“The beta-amyloid and tau protein come first in the disease, often for decades, followed by inflammation, which leads to [nerve] cell death,” explained the neurologist Paul Schulz, principal investigator of the trial and professor at the University of Texas. “We have good medications to get rid of the amyloid and slow the progression of the disease, but not stop it... because the downstream damage from inflammation has been set in motion. So, if we can get rid of both the beta-amyloid [plaques, with the medications] and decrease the inflammation [with the stem cells], we may be able to preclude or significantly reduce the risk of getting Alzheimer’s disease.”
The same research group previously trialled stem cell infusion in mice after a stroke, and in mice with Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s. In the latter cases, the memories of the treated mice were preserved and they showed a significant reduction in brain inflammation.
We’re now entering the clinical phase in humans for the first time. Participants will be monitored through regular visits and brain PET (positron emission tomography) scans, which can detect even the slightest signs of inflammation. Check-ups will be frequent in the first four months and then less so over the course of a year.
A new – albeit not entirely risk-free – way to prevent Alzheimer’s
Many treatments designed to “dissolve” beta-amyloid plaques have proved inadequate in recent years. The scientific community is therefore starting to explore new avenues. Although not without risk, cell therapy is one of the most promising, as demonstrated by stem cell trials conducted around the world on other diseased organs.
It will take years to understand whether the strategy will ever be truly effective, but for Schulz and his team, the objective is clear: to prevent Alzheimer’s before the brain suffers irreversible damage, thus improving quality of life and protecting the memory of those at risk.
