Researchers have found a compound derived from common herbs has successfully enhanced memory and brain density in mice, and could lead to new treatments for Alzheimer’s.
A team from The Scripps Research Institute based in the US worked on a derivative of carnosic acid, a molecule found in rosemary and sage.
They synthesised a more stable derivative called diAcCA and then used it to treat mice modified to show Alzheimer's-like symptoms for three months.
The mice that received the new drug showed improved learning and memory skills as well as more synapses, the junctions where neurons connect and communicate with each other, according to the findings published in the journal Antioxidants.
The loss of synapses correlates strongly with cognitive decline.
The mice also showed less buildup of amyloid plaques and tau tangles, two harmful proteins among the hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease in humans.
Alzheimer's disease accounts for 70 per cent of dementia cases.
It poses a significant and growing burden across Europe, affecting approximately 7 million people today, with numbers projected to double to 14 million by 2030 due to its ageing population.
“By combating inflammation and oxidative stress with this diAcCA compound, we actually increased the number of synapses in the brain,” Stuart Lipton, a professor at Scripps Research and one of the study’s authors, said in a statement.
“We also took down other misfolded or aggregated proteins such as phosphorylated-tau and amyloid-β, which are thought to trigger Alzheimer’s disease and serve as biomarkers of the disease process,” he added.
An anti-oxydant molecule
Carnosic acid is an antioxidant and an anti-inflammatory but it has a very short shelf-life, while the diAcCA can be taken orally before being converted into carnosic acid in the stomach and entering the bloodstream.
The amount in the blood of the test mice was 20 per cent higher with the new method compared to usual ingestion of carnosic acid.
“We did multiple different tests of memory, and they were all improved with the drug,” Lipton said.
“And it didn’t just slow down the decline; it improved virtually back to normal,” he added.
The researchers added that the mice tolerated diAcCA well.
