What is Alzheimer's disease?

Millions of people suffer from Alzheimer's disease, a chronic and progressive degenerative disease of the central nervous system that is the most common cause of dementia. It affects the patient's memory and cognitive function. Scientists estimate that the number of people with the disease will double every 20 years, so finding an effective cure is critical.

What is the link between multiple sclerosis and Alzheimer's disease?

Multiple sclerosis

Multiple sclerosis and Alzheimer's disease are conditions that affect the central nervous system, including the brain.

In the case of multiple sclerosis , the body's immune system attacks the central nervous system, leading to inflammation, which affects nerve fibres and thus impedes the transmission of messages from the brain to other areas of the body.

The main symptoms of multiple sclerosis are:

muscle weakness,
numbness in the face and limbs,
mobility problems.

People with multiple sclerosis, photo: panthermedia

People with multiple sclerosis may also experience symptoms of cognitive impairment similar to those associated with Alzheimer's disease, such as memory loss, learning difficulties and multi-tasking problems.

Alzheimer's disease

Scientists are not sure what exactly in turn causes Alzheimer's disease, however, previous research has shown that inflammation in the brain can damage neurons and brain cells, leading to the disease.

Multiple sclerosis and Alzheimer's disease - links

Although the main symptoms of Alzheimer's disease include memory loss and cognitive deficits, the sufferer may also experience movement problems similar to those of multiple sclerosis, including problems with balance and coordination.

People with Alzheimer's disease, photo: panthermedia

Progressive Alzheimer's disease can lead to loss of the ability to stand, walk and also eat.

A study in June 2023 found that people with multiple sclerosis have twice the risk of developing any type of dementia, including Alzheimer's disease. Another study presented evidence that multiple sclerosis and Alzheimer's disease are linked because they share a common environmental factor, such as viral infection and loss of myelin sheaths that protect nerve fibres, which is known as demyelination.

Is there a single cure for multiple sclerosis and Alzheimer's disease?

So far, a drug called ponesimod has only been used to treat multiple sclerosis.

According to Dr Erhard Bieberich, its effect is that it "inhibits a specific cell signalling pathway that causes inflammation in the nervous system in multiple sclerosis".

Dr Bieberich claims that "ponesimod will also inhibit nervous system inflammation in Alzheimer's disease".

Ponesimod a drug for Alzheimer's disease, photo by panthermedia

How do we know that ponesimod will work in Alzheimer's disease?

To test the ponesimod drug hypothesis, Dr Bieberich and his team used a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease. The mice had specific genetic strains that expressed the main features of Alzheimer's disease in their brains.

Half of the mice were treated with ponesimod. The researchers measured specific cell activity in their brains and also tested their spatial memory by observing their behaviour in a maze. The researchers noted that the mice treated with ponesimod had better concentration and better working memory than the untreated mice.

In addition, the researchers tested the theory on human brain samples; they found that the data collected in both tests were consistent and showed that ponesimod can be used to treat Alzheimer's disease because it reduces amyloid plaques in areas of the brain that are responsible for attention and memory.

The tests also showed improvements in cognitive function, but it is important to remember that drugs that prevent or reduce inflammation in the nervous system work best in the early stages of the disease.

Research on ponesimod, photo: panthermedia

Dr Bieberich announced that in further experiments, they intend to determine the optimal point at which ponesimod will prevent Alzheimer's disease.

Can Alzheimer's patients have reason for optimism?

As Alzhaimer's disease affects millions of sufferers, scientists are constantly making efforts to find an effective treatment. The Alzheimer's Association comments: "There is a growing treatment landscape for Alzheimer's disease. The progress we have seen over the past few years, not only in this class of therapies but also in the diversification of targets, is exciting and gives hope to those affected by this devastating disease."

Ponesimod: predictions for the drug's use, photo: panthermedia

Is ponesimod the only treatment for Alzheimer's disease?

In addition to ponesimod, the drug lecanemab-irmb for patients in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease was fully approved for marketing in July 2023. The pharmaceutical company has also applied for approval of another drug called donanemab and expects the application to be processed by the end of this year.

Both drugs slow down the progression of the disease, but do not eliminate it, but differ in the frequency of use. The former must be applied twice a month in the infusion clinic, while the latter must be applied only once.

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Can a multiple sclerosis drug be effective in treating Alzheimer's disease?

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