{"id":67047,"date":"2024-09-03T12:51:00","date_gmt":"2024-09-03T19:51:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/?p=67047"},"modified":"2024-09-03T12:51:00","modified_gmt":"2024-09-03T19:51:00","slug":"study-drug-protects-against-air-pollution-related-alzheimers-signs-in-mice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/?p=67047","title":{"rendered":"Study: Drug protects against air pollution-related Alzheimer\u2019s signs in mice"},"content":{"rendered":"

Mice that received the drug had lower levels of proteins which make up the telltale plaques seen in brains with Alzheimer\u2019s. Could the medication help humans?<\/em><\/p>\n

A recent USC study shows that mice fed an experimental drug were protected against air pollution-related increases in proteins linked to Alzheimer\u2019s disease.<\/p>\n

The findings, published in\u00a0Alzheimer’s & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer’s Association<\/em><\/a>, suggest that the drug could one day have a role as a preventive measure against Alzheimer\u2019s in people living with air pollution.<\/p>\n

Air pollution is correlated with systemic inflammation and promotes the formation of amyloid plaques, the clumps of protein seen between the brain\u2019s nerve cells in Alzheimer\u2019s.<\/p>\n

Senior author\u00a0Caleb Finch<\/a>, USC University Professor and holder of the ARCO\/William F. Kieschnick Chair in the Neurobiology of Aging at the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology, has studied\u00a0air pollution\u2019s effects on the brain<\/a>\u00a0for several years, especially the consequences of\u00a0exposure to fine particulates<\/a>\u00a0found in pollution from automobiles, factories and more.<\/p>\n

Many\u00a0studies<\/a>\u00a0have shown that poor air quality has a sizeable impact on risk\u00a0 of Alzheimer and accelerates cognitive decline, he said.<\/p>\n

The latest work from Finch\u2019s lab highlights the potential protection offered by a type of drug called a gamma-secretase modulator, developed by team members at UCSD and Harvard.<\/p>\n

The team tested the drug, called GSM-15606, by feeding it to mice over 8 weeks. During that time, the animals were regularly exposed to air pollution in the form of either ambient nanoparticulate matter or diesel exhaust particles.<\/p>\n

Following air pollution exposure, mice fed the drug had much less amyloid protein in their brains compared with mice exposed to pollution but not the drug.<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause gamma secretase is needed for normal functions body-wide, this drug was designed to modulate, but not inhibit, production of A\u03b242,\u201d Finch said. \u201cThis is the first example of a new drug developed to slow Alzheimer\u2019s that may also protect aging individuals from the environmental risk factor of air pollution.\u201d<\/p>\n

In addition to Finch, study authors include Jose A. Godoy-Lugo, Max A. Thorwald, Mafalda Cacciottolo, Carla D\u2019Agostino, Ararat Chakhoyan, and Constantinos Sioutas of USC; Rudolph E. Tanzi of Harvard; and Kevin D. Rynearson of the University of California, San Diego. Lab studies were supported by grants to Finch from the Cure Alzheimer’s Fund and NIH (R01-AG051521, P01-AG055367).<\/p>\n

Source: USC<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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