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Alzheimer's Disease Research - Current Award

Photo Pending

Bruce Cohen, Ph.D.

McLean Hospital
Belmont, MA

Title: A Novel Treatment Strategy for Neurorepair in Alzheimer's Disease
Non-Technical Title: The Use of Adult Bone Marrow Stem Cells in Treating Alzheimer's Disease

Co-Investigator(s):
Kai Sonntag, M.D., Ph.D.
McLean Hospital

Acknowledgements: In Memory of Dr. Anne Cataldo
Duration: April 1, 2008 - March 31, 2010
Award Type: Pilot
Award Amount: $150,000


Summary:

In this project, 'adult' stem cells will be used as a delivery system to deliver sAPP to brain regions undergoing neurodegeneration. The hypothesis is that sAPP will work together with growth factors to protect and repair cholinergic neurons in the brain, thereby representing a potential for therapeutic treatment in humans with AD.

Details:

Neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's Disease (AD) have devastating effects on patients and society; they are difficult to predict, diagnose, and treat and weigh heavily on families and the healthcare system. Alzheimer's Disease affects 5 million Americans, 7 in 10 of whom are cared for by family members. While medications can ameliorate the symptoms of this disorder, none reverse the death of nerve cells. For these reasons, we are looking at novel avenues--namely stem cells--for brain cell regeneration. Unlike many studies using embryonic stem cells, this treatment will rely on stem cells derived from the bone marrow of adults, called marrow-derived adult progenitor cells (MAPCs) that could provide a valuable alternative to the use of embryonic stem cells. Our studies thus far show that new and selective nerve cell growth can be encouraged from MAPCs, and importantly that these cells have the ability to generate the same types of nerve lost in AD. Unlike embryonic stem cells, whose use has generated a number of ethical concerns, MAPCs are autologous, meaning these cells can be obtained from the marrow of the same individual with AD. Patients thus serve as their own donors, eliminating the occurrence of a graft-host rejection -- an immune response that often occurs with the transplantation of tissue obtained from one individual to another. MAPCs also can be delivered to brain through intravenously injection, which we have observed in our initial animal studies. In addition, MAPCs are capable of migrating to those areas in brain with the most severe cell loss. The proposed studies will employ a novel therapeutic approach which focuses on the potential use of MAPCs to carry an important cholinergic cell growth factor that is reduced in AD, sAPPalpha, into the brains of an animal model with AD-like cholinergic cell loss. We will also study its ability when combined with other nerve cell growth factors to retard nerve cell loss and promote new nerve cell development. The promise of stem cell therapies doesn't stop at neurodegenerative diseases but may impact other diseases of brain. If we can develop bone marrow cells into the brain cells lost in AD, maybe we can transform them into other subpopulations of nerve cells that may be lost or compromised in a wide range of disorders of brain which will have important implications for clinical care.