Appearing in the Journal of Neuroinflammation, a coalition of researchers at the University of Kentucky unveiled the potential for new therapeutic approaches in treating Alzheimer’s disease.
According to their new research, targeting the Trem-2 gene to increase its function may result in a significant reduction in the risk of Alzheimer’s disease.
The new research involved intracranial and systemic administration studies and rodents as test subjects.
“Here, we show that chronic activation of Trem2, in the 5XFAD mouse model of amyloid deposition, leads to reversal of the amyloid-associated gene expression signature, recruitment of microglia to plaques, decreased amyloid deposition, and improvement in spatial learning and novel object recognition memory,” the co-authors stated in their findings.
“These findings indicate that Trem2 activators may be effective for the treatment of AD and possibly other neurodegenerative disorders.”
The study was authored by Brittani Price, Tiffany Sudduth, Erica Weekman, Sherika Johnson, Danielle Hawthorne, Abigail Woolums, and Donna Wilcock.