Alzheimer’s Reversed in Mice with Nanoparticle Treatment, Spanish Researchers report
Barcelona, Spain - A collaborative team of researchers from the Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC) and West China Hospital of the University of Sichuan has announced a breakthrough in Alzheimer’s disease research: a nanotechnology-based approach that successfully reversed the disease’s effects in mice. The study, conducted in partnership with British colleagues, focuses on restoring the function of the blood-brain barrier, rather than targeting neurons directly.
The research centers on the use of bioactive nanoparticles – described as “supramolecular medicines” - to repair the blood-brain barrier,a crucial interface regulating the brain’s environment and responsible for clearing harmful proteins from the bloodstream. In Alzheimer’s disease, the buildup of beta-amyloid protein disrupts normal brain function.
Researchers administered just three doses of the nanoparticles to mice with high levels of beta-amyloid. Within one hour, beta-amyloid levels decreased by 50-60%, and long-term observation revealed a full recovery of cognitive functions in older mice.
“The effect comes from repairing the cerebral vascular system, which activates a feedback mechanism that helps the brain to eliminate toxic proteins and regain the balance,” explained Junyang Chen, a researcher at West China Hospital and co-author of the study, in an interview with elDiario.es.
While hailed as “promising and biologically captivating” by neuropathologist Alberto Rábano of Fundación cien, researchers caution that significant further investigation is needed to translate these pre-clinical findings into viable human treatments.
The findings represent a potential new therapeutic avenue for Alzheimer’s disease, shifting the focus to the blood-brain barrier as a key target for disease modification, offering an alternative to customary neuron-focused or symptom-management approaches.
