Alzheimer's disease is the most common cause of dementia, a condition that affects memory, thinking and behaviour.

It slowly damages the brain and worsens over time. There is currently no cure for Alzheimer's disease.

The few drugs that are available can only help somewhat and only work in the early stages. But now scientists at the University of Barcelona in Spain have developed a new drug that could one day make a big difference.

This potential new treatment is the result of 7 years of research. It was created by a large team of scientists from several research centres in Spain and Germany.

The study was led by Merce Palàs and Santiago Vázquez, professors at the Faculty of Pharmacy and Food Sciences of the University of Barcelona. Their findings were recently published in the prestigious scientific journal ACS Pharmacology & Translational Science.

The researchers tested the new drug in two groups of mice that were bred to develop symptoms similar to those of Alzheimer's. In these mice, the drug showed a strong protective effect in the brain. It helped reduce brain inflammation, improved memory and maintained the health of the network of nerve cells in the brain.

These results are important because they suggest that the drug doesn't just treat symptoms - it may actually slow or change the course of the disease.

This drug works differently than most previous treatments. Over the past 10 years, many experimental drugs have focused on removing certain harmful proteins (called beta-amyloid plaques) from the brain. But these efforts have mostly failed to help patients. The Barcelona team decided to focus on another key part of the disease: inflammation in the brain.

Inflammation is the way the body fights injury or infection, but in Alzheimer's disease the brain remains in a constant state of low-level inflammation. This can lead to more damage over time. The new drug helps by blocking a specific enzyme called soluble epoxide hydrolase (or sEH). It plays a role in controlling inflammation and pain in the body.

When this enzyme is blocked, beneficial molecules called EETs (epoxyeicosatrienoic acids) are increased in the brain. These molecules are natural anti-inflammatory agents that can protect brain cells and improve blood flow to the brain.

The study showed that mice treated with the new drug had better memory and brain function. Their brain cells remained healthier, and the connections between them were stronger. Even more impressive, the benefits lasted even a month after stopping the drug, suggesting a long-lasting effect.

Another key point is that this drug seems to work better than common anti-inflammatory drugs like ibuprofen, which didn't help much in the same mouse models. Unlike drugs that target only one pathway in the body, this new treatment acts simultaneously on multiple systems related to inflammation. This broader action may explain why it appears to be more effective.

Although the results are promising, scientists warn that it will be many years before this drug is used in humans. Turning a new compound into a safe and approved drug is a long and expensive process.

The drug must go through many stages of testing, starting with laboratory and animal studies, followed by several rounds of human clinical trials. These trials test the safety, correct dosage and effectiveness of the drug. The whole process often takes more than a decade.

However, there is real hope. Researchers have already patented the drug, and a US pharmaceutical company has bought the rights to develop it further. That company will now begin preclinical and clinical trials.

Scientists at the University of Barcelona will continue to work closely with the company as expert advisors to make sure the project goes to plan. | BGNES