Can the “love hormone” beat Alzheimer’s?

Giving sick mice an oxytocin spray helped reverse cognitive impairment.

The power of love can help reverse the devastating effects of Alzheimer’s. At least that’s what Japanese scientists think. Previous studies on the brain tissue of dead mice have shown that oxytocin, the so-called love hormone, is able to counteract some of the damage caused by Alzheimer’s disease. This discovery raised the hope that treatments could be developed that would help millions of people.

However, researchers have struggled to find a safe and effective way to deliver the hormone to the brains of live mice. Tests showed that administering the hormone to mice via a nasal drip worked almost as well as direct injection into the brain. Alzheimer’s disease is a degenerative brain disease in which the accumulation of abnormal, toxic proteins kills nerve cells. There is no cure yet, but it is possible to relieve some of the symptoms.

In the latest study, Dr. Jun-Ichiro Oka, an expert in neuropharmacology, and his team wanted to test two methods of administering oxytocin to mice that had Alzheimer’s control plaques engineered: injections directly into the brain and injections of oxytocin through the nose.

While the injection method is known to work, it is considered too dangerous and difficult to apply to people who have more complex brain structures. The traditional nasal method, which is safer, is not the easiest due to the difficulty of penetrating the blood-brain barrier, an incredibly thin membrane designed to protect sensitive brain tissue from any blood-borne toxins. But the Tokyo scientists have modified the oxytocin molecule to allow it to pass through the membrane more efficiently.

The mice were made to take pre-treatment tests to see how the therapy helped improve their memory.

The researchers found that the rodents that received an injection of oxytocin performed better on both tests.

Oxytocin can reverse impaired synaptic plasticity, the brain’s ability to change and adapt to new information.

Scientists have been looking for effective treatments for Alzheimer’s disease for decades, but so far only drugs have been developed that slow down the course of the disease.

Alzheimer’s disease is most common in people over 65 years of age.

This is the main cause of dementia, the ongoing decline in brain function that usually occurs in old age.

Christina DENISYUK.

Source: dailymail.co.uk

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