A drug protected mice from increases in Alzheimer’s-related proteins when the animals were exposed to air pollution, a new study showed. Researchers hope the results may be the same in humans one day.
The study was published Monday in Alzheimer’s & Dementia.
Air pollution increases systemic inflammation in the body, causing more amyloid plaques (such as Aβ42) to form between nerve cells in the brain. These plaques can indicate that a person has the disease.
In the trial, a team fed mice a drug dubbed gamma secretase modulator (GSM-15606) over the course of eight weeks. Some of the animals were then exposed to diesel exhaust or ambient nanoparticulate matter (nPM) while on the drug, while others were not exposed to the air pollution but were on the medication. Then, the team looked at how much of the protein was in their brains.
The drug protected the mice from increases in the proteins, the authors said. It lowered amyloid beta production during air pollution exposure. The diesel exhaust exposure increased lateral ventricle volume by 25%, which suggested that diesel exhaust exposure caused atrophy of cerebral tissue.
Caleb Finch, PhD, a University of South Carolina professor and senior author, noted that previous research has shown that air pollution plays a role in Alzheimer’s disease, raising the risk for cognitive decline.
“Because gamma secretase is needed for normal functions body-wide, this drug was designed to modulate, but not inhibit, production of Aβ42,” he said. “This is the first example of a new drug developed to slow Alzheimer’s that may also protect aging individuals from the environmental risk factor of air pollution.”
The findings that GSM-15606 protected mice from air pollution components of diesel exhaust and nPM suggest benefits to the large at-risk elderly population exposed to air pollution, the authors wrote.
The results indicate that GSM-15606 may one day have a role as a preventive measure against Alzheimer’s in people living with air pollution, Finch said in a statement.
