A study has found a novel treatment approach against Alzheimer’s disease. While common methods of treatment include focusing on amyloid plaques and tau tangles (targeting a protein called tau in the brain), new researchers have shown that using xenon gas, a popular anesthesia gas, can improve the disease. Can get help.

Researchers at Mass General Brigham and Washington University School of Medicine conducted experiments on rats and found that inhalation of xenon gas suppressed neuro-inflammation, reduced brain atrophy and increased protective neural states.

Following these findings, published in Science Translational Medicine, Phase 1 clinical trials among healthy volunteers will begin soon this year.

“This is a very unique discovery that shows that simply inhaling an inert gas can have such a profound neuroprotective effect,” said senior and co-corresponding author Oleg Butovsky.

They researchers say it is “exciting” how xenon gas had a “protective effect” on various models of Alzheimer’s disease tested in the laboratory.

Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive brain disorder characterized by memory loss and cognitive decline. This is the most common type of dementia and mostly affects people above 65 years of age.

Currently, it is one of the fastest growing neurological disorders in the world. Although current medications temporarily control symptoms, there is no cure for Alzheimer’s disease.

Scientists are still investigating the cause of Alzheimer’s disease. While we know some aspects of it and how these factors cause the formation of certain proteins like amyloid and tau, more effective treatments are desperately needed.

Ultimately, Alzheimer’s disease damages communication between nerve cells and causes abnormalities in the brain that progress over time, eventually leading to death.

In the study, mouse models of Alzheimer’s were treated with xenon gas, used as an anesthesia and neuroprotectant to treat brain injuries.

They found that the gas penetrated the blood-brain barrier, entering the fluid surrounding the brain directly from the bloodstream.

While further study is needed, the researchers said their findings offer promise that xenon inhalation could be used as a therapeutic approach to reduce the brain aging effects of Alzheimer’s disease.