A family of nanoparticles - tiny, biodegradable molecules commonly used to deliver drugs to patients - shows promise in treating Alzheimer's disease without additional medication, according to new research from a University of Alberta neuroscientist.
In a study published in Alzheimer's & Dementia, the journal of the Alzheimer's Association, Dr. Satyabrata Kar and colleagues report finding improved symptoms and reversal of the disease at the molecular and cellular level in mice with Alzheimer's following treatment with a class of nanoparticles called polylactic-co-glycolic acid, or PLGA. The nanoparticles have been approved for drug delivery in humans in the United States, Europe and Canada.
"These molecules have a long-standing safety record and are biodegradable," says Kar, a professor in the Department of Medicine.
"There is really no effective treatment available for Alzheimer's right now," he says. "Most treatments are for symptoms only; they do not stop or halt the progression of the disease. And two recently approved disease-modifying treatments have been reported to have severe side-effects."
About 750,000 Canadians live with Alzheimer's disease or another form of dementia, according to Statistics Canada. Alzheimer's is the most common form of dementia and is the ninth leading cause of death in Canada.
PLGA nanoparticles were first used as biodegradable sutures and were subsequently approved as vehicles for drug delivery in the 1980s. More than 20 drugs are now delivered using PLGA nanoparticles, which can be modified to target certain organs or parts of the body to reduce side-effects.
