NEW YORK – A drug commonly used to induce labor could offer new hope in the fight against Alzheimer’s disease, according to recent research.
Scientists have discovered that this medication, which has been used for decades to help pregnant women, may also revitalize the brain’s waste removal system – a system that often becomes impaired in Alzheimer’s patients.
Alzheimer’s and other dementias are sometimes referred to as “dirty brain” diseases because they involve a breakdown in the brain’s ability to clear out toxic waste. When this disposal system slows down, harmful substances accumulate, damaging healthy brain tissue.
However, applying drugs that stimulate muscle contractions could restore some of this lost function, said Dr. Douglas Kelley, a professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Rochester and the lead researcher of the study.
He explained: “These drugs, which are used to assist in over a million deliveries per year, can be administered as a pill, IV, or topical treatment.
“This research shows that restoring cervical lymph vessel function can substantially rescue the slower removal of waste from the brain associated with age.”
The study, published in the journal Nature Aging, explored the brain’s glymphatic system – a complex network responsible for flushing out waste products.
