Stanford Medicine researchers are hopeful that a proof-of-concept treatment in mice—blood stem cell transplants—may reduce signs of Alzheimer's disease.
"This cell therapy approach is unique in the field because most researchers are working to find pills or injectables to treat Alzheimer's disease," Wernig said.. Wernig is the senior author on the paper, and postdoctoral scholar Yongjin Yoo is lead author.
Scientists have observed that some genetic variations in microglia show a strong correlation with an increased risk of Alzheimer's disease. One such correlation involves a gene called TREM2, which plays an essential role in in how microglia detect and address neurodegeneration."Certain genetic variants of TREM2 are among the strongest genetic risk factors for Alzheimer's disease," Wernig said.
Next, they investigated whether the restored TREM2 activity was enough to improve the brain health of the TREM2-deficient mice."Indeed, in the transplanted mice we saw a clear reduction in the deposits of amyloid plaques normally seen TREM2-deficient mice," Wernig said. They were also able to show a restoration of microglial function and reduction of other disease markers, indicating that functional restoration of this one gene had widespread positive effects.
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