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When discussing Alzheimer's disease and potential treatments, amyloid plaques often dominate the conversation. However, scientists are uncovering that Alzheimer's is influenced by various factors, including neuroinflammation and disrupted metabolism.

In a new study published in Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience, researchers led by Michigan Medicine have demonstrated that by transplanting human neural stem cells, they could enhance memory and alleviate neuroinflammation in a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease.

"The beneficial effects of transplanting human neural stem cells within the brains of Alzheimer's disease mice occurred despite amyloid plaque levels remaining unchanged, which lends further evidence that strategies targeting neuroinflammation may be a promising therapeutic strategy, independent of amyloid plaques," lead author Kevin Chen, M.D., clinical assistant professor of neurosurgery and neurology at Michigan Medicine, said.

News Wise reported that the team at Michigan Medicine's NeuroNetwork for Emerging Therapies conducted the transplantation of neural stem cells into the memory centers of transgenic mice expressing mutations linked to familial Alzheimer's disease. Assessing spatial memory and learning through the Morris water maze task eight weeks post-transplant revealed that Alzheimer's mice receiving stem cells showed restored learning curves akin to control mice.

Further analysis through spatial transcriptomics unveiled over 1,000 differently expressed genes normalized in the memory centers of Alzheimer's mice post-transplantation. Notably, gene expression changes in microglia, the brain's innate immune cells implicated in Alzheimer's progression, mirrored those of control mice, indicating a reduction in neuroinflammation and disease advancement.

Senior author Eva Feldman, M.D., Ph.D., director of the ALS Center of Excellence at U-M, noted the significance of these findings, stating, "Our research supports the promise of stem cell therapies in neurodegenerative diseases, marking the essential initial step toward potential stem cell treatments."

Further research in mice is needed before progressing to larger animals and eventual human trials.