In Alzheimer's disease, microglia is activated in the brain, which uses inflammation to clear tissue of toxic protein plaques. An unfavorable situation arises when the fight drags on and inflammation leads to disruption of neuronal function and their death. To solve this problem, scientists began working on creating a spray to affect microglia in order to correct its work. The findings are published on the website of the University of Texas.
The spray consisted of extracellular vesicles derived from stem cells. Experiments in laboratory animal models showed that delivery of extracellular vesicles through the respiratory tract significantly altered microglial gene expression and reduced levels of pro-inflammatory proteins. Crucially, the treatment did not impair the cells’ ability to do their primary job of clearing protein aggregation from brain tissue.
It is too early to talk about the treatment prospects, but the authors expect that the therapy will be able to stop the progression of Alzheimer's disease for 10-15 years after diagnosis. Further studies should confirm this hypothesis.
Previously, other scientists reported the creation of a spray vaccine to protect against urinary tract infections. It provides prevention of infections for several years, and also prevents the development of relapses and severe forms of the disease.