Drugs That Reverse Dementia

Dementia is one of the most devastating and tragic neurological disorders that come with age. When a patient has dementia, the neurons in their brain struggle to communicate with each other, eventually leading to the death of the cell. As the number of failing brain cells increases, symptoms grow more apparent, and the patient's condition worsens. Due to a loss in functioning brain cells, the patient may experience memory loss, jumbled memories, along with other symptoms. However, researchers have challenged this idea and may have developed a temporary treatment process. 

University of California-Berkeley (UCB) and Ben-Gurion scientists hypothesized using drugs that control brain inflammation could slow the neurological damages of dementia, as well as improve brain performance and ability to retain memories. To test their hypothesis, the scientists treated senile mice with brain anti-inflammatory drugs. Researchers concluded that their hypothesis was correct, and drugs that reduce or control brain inflammation can reverse dementia. Daniela Kaufer, a professor of integrative biology at UCB and the senior author of the research publication, explains the discovery. She says the loss of brain function over time is caused by a "fog" and "inflammatory load" rather than a loss of cells or reduction in performance quality from existing brain cells. This reduction in brain performance occurs between the ages of 60 and 70 years old, as most adults after the age of 70, "have leaky blood-brain barriers." Since the buildup of plaque and inflammation that is responsible for the leaky blood-brain barrier occurs over time, it hinders building new neurological connections and weakens existing connections over time as well. Additionally, this weakens the patient's ability to hold onto a memory, organize the memory to the corresponding time period, and connect it to similar memories, ideas, and events in their lives. The brain anti-inflammatory drugs control the effects of the damage caused by the plaque buildup by reducing overall swelling or helping remove some of the blockages in the brain. This helps the brain maintain function, as neurological connections remain active, and "within days the brain acts like a young brain," Kaufer further explains. 

Dementia steals a patient's memories, taking away their personality and parts of their lives. The experiment's successful treatment of senile mice using the brain anti-inflammatory drugs proves that the brain is adaptive and can have a broad range of plasticity. It supports radical new theories of what may cause neurological disorders like dementia, such as an inadequate brain filtration system. This can help scientists conduct more capable and complex experiments to help find new treatments, medications, and cures for dementia. Scientists are also using this information to find cures for Alzheimer's, as Electroencephalograms (EEG) reveals a similar brain pattern.

https://news.berkeley.edu/2019/12/04/drugs-that-quell-brain-inflammation-reverse-dementia/?