Researchers have discovered a promising new treatment for Alzheimer's derived from rosemary and sage.
The Scripps Research Institute team worked with a compound from the herbs to create a more stable derivative that successfully enhanced memory and brain density in mice.
Their findings, published in the journal Antioxidants, show the treatment could potentially lead to new therapies for Alzheimer's disease.
The scientists synthesised a more stable derivative called diAcCA from carnosic acid, a molecule naturally occurring in herbs.
Dementia currently affects millions of people around the worldGETTYThey administered this new compound to mice that had been modified to display Alzheimer's-like symptoms.
The treatment continued for three months, with researchers monitoring the cognitive abilities of the mice throughout the study period.
Unlike carnosic acid, which has a very short shelf-life, diAcCA can be taken orally before converting into carnosic acid in the stomach.
This improved delivery method resulted in 20 per cent higher blood levels compared to regular carnosic acid ingestion.
The mice that received the new drug showed remarkable improvements in learning and memory skills.
Researchers observed an increase in synapses, the crucial junctions where neurons connect and communicate with each other. The loss of these synapses is strongly correlated with cognitive decline in Alzheimer's patients.
The treated mice also displayed reduced buildup of amyloid plaques and tau tangles, two harmful proteins considered hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease.
Importantly, the mice tolerated the diAcCA compound well during the study.
"By combating inflammation and oxidative stress with this diAcCA compound, we actually increased the number of synapses in the brain," said Professor Stuart Lipton, one of the study's authors.
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Dementia currently affects millions of people around the world
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"We also took down other misfolded or aggregated proteins such as phosphorylated-tau and amyloid-β, which are thought to trigger Alzheimer's disease," he added. "We did multiple different tests of memory, and they were all improved with the drug. And it didn't just slow down the decline; it improved virtually back to normal."
Alzheimer's disease accounts for 70 per cent of dementia cases across Europe, affecting approximately 7 million people, with numbers projected to double to 14 million by 2030 due to the ageing population.
This new herb-derived treatment offers hope in addressing this growing health crisis.
The compound's ability to not only slow cognitive decline but potentially reverse it represents a significant breakthrough in Alzheimer's research.
