Inhaling a gas sometimes used to boost athletic performance could be a new way to combat Alzheimer’s disease according to results from an ‘exciting’ American study.
Scientists found inhaling xenon boosted brain health and improved problem-solving skills, which could potentially help combat the currently incurable disease.
Xenon is an extremely expensive gas that is odourless and colourless. It’s normally used as a rocket propellant or an anaesthetic that is also being touted as potential tool to help mountaineers climb Everest.
In the new study, carried out by researchers from Mass General Brigham and Washington University School of Medicine in the US, researchers sought to explore its potential as treatment for Alzheimer’s.
Initially conducting the tests on mice, scientists say the results are so promising they plan to launch a human trial in the next few months.
Senior author, Dr Oleg Butovsky an expert in neurologic diseases at Brigham, said: ‘It is a very novel discovery showing that simply inhaling an inert gas can have such a profound neuroprotective effect.’
‘One of the main limitations in the field of Alzheimer’s disease research and treatment is that it is extremely difficult to design medications that can pass the blood-brain barrier—but xenon gas does.
‘We look forward to seeing this novel approach tested in humans.’
Inhaling a gas used by fitness fanatics to boost performance could be a new way to combat Alzheimer’s disease results from an ‘exciting’ American study suggests
In multiple experiments the mice were given a dose of 30 per cent xenon gas once per week with their behaviour monitored in the following weeks and their brains examined at the study’s conclusion.
A separate group of mice were also given normal air in each test to act as a control.
Scientists found mice given xenon had reduced inflammation in their brains, better brain health in general, were better at tasks like nest building and also had a stronger immune cells response in the organ linked to improved cognition.
These results suggest the gas could form a potential treatment for Alzheimer’s disease.
Xenon gas has previously seen use in medicine as an anaesthetic and a way to protect the brain while treating injuries to the organ.
Its chemical structure allows it to easily slip through blood-brain barrier, an internal system designed to protect the brain, but which can also make it difficult for drugs to reach the organ.
Alzheimer’s disease is the most common cause of dementia, a memory robbing disorder that blights the lives of almost a million Brits.
What causes Alzheimer’s to develop is unknown, but it is characterised by the toxic build-up of proteins in the brain called tau and amyloid which disrupt the function of brain cells, and which ultimately leads to death.
Alzheimer’s disease is the most common cause of dementia. The disease can cause anxiety, confusion and short-term memory loss
Researchers said an exciting aspect of their study was how they found xenon had a protective effect in two groups of mice used in the experiment, one with amyloid build-up in the brain and the other with tau build-up.
They are now planning a clinical trial on humans which will be held Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts.
The first stages of the trial seeks to establish aspects like how safe it is and what dosage as the research team also continues to explore the exact mechanisms of how xenon gas seems to work in combating Alzheimer’s.
Fellow author Dr Howard Weiner also of Brigham, said, if all goes well, there is potential for xenon gas to also be used for a range of other conditions that affect the brain like multiple sclerosis a condition where the nerves begin to malfunction.
‘It could open the door to new treatments for helping patients with neurologic diseases,’ he said.
The results of the study have been published in the journal Science Translational Medicine.
The team also stated they are researching technologies to potentially recycle xenon gas.
Xenon gas has become prohibitively expensive in recent years.
Around 900,000 Britons are currently thought to have the memory-robbing disorder. But University College London scientists estimate this will rise to 1.7million within two decades as people live longer. It marks a 40 per cent uptick on the previous forecast in 2017
Prices have risen especially high since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which was the world’s largest producer of noble gases.
Recent analysis by the Alzheimer’s Society estimates the overall annual cost of the dementia to the UK is £42billion a year, with families bearing the brunt.
An ageing population means these costs – which include lost earnings of unpaid carers – are set to soar to £90billion in the next 15 years.
Around 944,000 in the UK are thought to be living with dementia, while the figure is thought to be around 7million in the US.
Alzheimer’s affects around six in 10 people with dementia.
Memory problems, thinking and reasoning difficulties and language problems are common early symptoms of the condition, which then worsen over time.
A separate Alzheimer’s Research UK analysis found 74,261 people died from dementia in 2022 compared with 69,178 a year earlier, making it the country’s biggest killer.
