Multiple sclerosis drug improves memory in mice modeling Alzheimer's
disease

Date:
November 5, 2021
Source:
University of Rochester Medical Center
Summary:
Researchers found that glatiramer acetate, a prescription drug
currently used to treat patients with multiple sclerosis, improved
memory in a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease.



FULL STORY ========================================================================== Losing memory is a hallmark of Alzheimer's, a symptom of the disease
that depletes a patient's quality of life. Improving memory and slowing cognitive changes caused by the disease is an ongoing challenge for
researchers seeking to develop novel therapies. In a newly published paper
in Frontiers in Neuroscience, researchers at the Del Monte Institute for Neuroscience at the University of Rochester found that glatiramer acetate,
a prescription drug currently used to treat patients with multiple
sclerosis (MS), improved memory in a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease.


========================================================================== "This research extends our information about glatiramer acetate's
potential use in Alzheimer's disease," said M. Kerry O'Banion, M.D.,
Ph.D., professor of Neuroscience and senior author of the study. "This
isn't a cure, but it could be a step in the right direction for a
treatment to slow the symptoms of this debilitating disease." Using a
mouse model, researchers found changes in microglia -- part of the
brain's immune system -- and improvements in cognitive behavior when
glatiramer acetate was used. These changes were associated with less
amyloid plaques and modifications to tau pathology -- a protein found
in neurodegenerative diseases -- in the brain, indicating that molecular hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease had been impacted. Previous studies have
found that glatiramer acetate can alter brain pathology in Alzheimer's
disease mouse models, but the exact mechanisms that are impacted in the
brain are still unknown.

"Overall, these findings provide further evidence that therapies
that modify the immune system could be effective in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease," said Dawling Dionisio-Santos, Ph.D., a first-year resident in Neurology and graduate of the Medical Scientist Training
Program and co-first author on the paper. "It adds evidence to support
trials that test the use of glatiramer acetate in patients at risk
for developing Alzheimer's." Co-authors on this paper include Berke
Karaahmet, Elizabeth K. Belcher, Ph.D., Laura D. Owlett, Ph.D., Lee
A. Trojanczyk, and John A. Olschowka, Ph.D. The research was funded by
the National Institute on Aging.

========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by
University_of_Rochester_Medical_Center. Original written by Kelsie Smith Hayduk. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Dawling A. Dionisio-Santos, Berke Karaahmet, Elizabeth K. Belcher,
Laura
D. Owlett, Lee A. Trojanczyk, John A. Olschowka, M. Kerry O'Banion.

Evaluating Effects of Glatiramer Acetate Treatment on Amyloid
Deposition and Tau Phosphorylation in the 3xTg Mouse Model of
Alzheimer's Disease.

Frontiers in Neuroscience, 2021; 15 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2021.758677 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/11/211105150501.htm

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