A drug that is used against HIV shows potential to slow down Alzheimer's

BarcelonaIn Europe, there are already two approved medications for Alzheimer's (although in the State they have not yet received authorization) and experts anticipate that in the coming years the arsenal of drugs to combat this disease will expand with more therapeutic alternatives. One of the medications that has the potential to be part of this group is lamivudine, which has historically been used against the HIV virus, but which in recent years several studies have pointed to as a promising resource against Alzheimer's. A group of Catalan researchers recently demonstrated its safety in patients with the disease and are now calling for funding to allow them to continue their research.

Professionals from the Fight Infections Foundation, IrsiCaixa, the Germans Trias i Pujol Hospital, the Pasqual Maragall Foundation, and the Centre for Genomic Regulation participated in this initial study. Previous research had shown that the drug slows the course of the disease in mice, with cognitive improvement and better preservation of muscle mass. This time, scientists have verified that the drug is safe in a small group of patients, which is why they now want to conduct a larger and longer-lasting study. Specifically, they want to include up to 150 people with mild cognitive impairment and test various therapeutic combinations over a year to see their effect on the patients.

To carry this out, they estimate they need one million euros. "We want to raise public awareness about the importance of this research," remarks Bonaventura Clotet, director of IrsiCaixa and founder of the Fight Infections Foundation, in a conversation with ARA. Lamivudine is a generic, which is why the pharmaceutical industry has no interest in investigating its potential against Alzheimer's, as it has no patent and any company can replicate it. This makes it more cost-effective, which would benefit both the healthcare system and the patients, but it also forces research centers to seek funding to continue the investigations and demonstrate that it is, indeed, a safe drug that slows the course of Alzheimer's.

Virus fossils

To understand how this medication works, it is necessary to know that the human genome retains fragments of viruses that infected our ancestors millions of years ago. These types of microscopic fossils became inserted into our DNA and are capable of activating immune sensors in cells. When this happens, inflammation is triggered in the nervous system. One of the effects of lamivudine is to block the activation of these virus fragments, known as retrotransposons, which is why experts believe it would be a good candidate for slowing the progression of Alzheimer's if it is capable of reducing inflammation of the nervous system. The LINE-1 is one of the best-known retrotransposons, and the Catalan researchers want to conduct another study, which they estimate will have a cost of about 30,000 euros, to demonstrate that the treatment acts directly against this virus fragment.

Núria Izquierdo-Useros, the project's lead researcher, defends the importance of continuing with the research because if they demonstrate its efficacy against Alzheimer's, it "would be extremely useful" in the fight against the disease, given that this medication has been administered for many years, they know it is safe, and it would have a very low economic cost. Furthermore, Clotet believes that it could be combined with other available medications to achieve a better therapeutic response against Alzheimer's, which still has no cure and is the main form of dementia worldwide.