It has been known for some years that people who suffer from rheumatoid arthritis are less likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease.
But now, researchers at the University of South Florida think they know why, and their findings could pave the way for a treatment for Alzheimer’s.
The researchers found that a protein released into the bloodstream of people with rheumatoid arthritis provided protection against Alzheimer’s in mice.
Their study appears online today in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease.
One of the next steps could be testing the protein, known as GM-CSF, on humans. Huntington Potter, the principal investigator, noted that the man-made form of GM-CSF, known as Leukine, is already approved by the FDA to treat certain cancer patients who need to generate more immune cells.
“Our study, along with the drug’s track record for safety, suggests Leu kine should be tested in humans as a potential treatment for Alzheimer’s disease,” said Potter, a professor of molecular medicine at USF’s Byrd Alzheimer’s Institute and director of the Florida Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center.
“We were pretty amazed that the treatment completely reversed cognitive impairment in 20 days,” Tim Boyd, one of the lead authors of the study, said in a news release.
