{"id":869276,"date":"2026-08-26T17:34:14","date_gmt":"2026-08-26T17:34:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/869276\/"},"modified":"2026-08-26T17:34:14","modified_gmt":"2026-08-26T17:34:14","slug":"scientists-reverse-alzheimers-damage-in-mice-with-just-two-injections-sciencealert","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/869276\/","title":{"rendered":"Scientists Reverse Alzheimer’s Damage in Mice With Just Two Injections : ScienceAlert"},"content":{"rendered":"

Slowing the progression of Alzheimer’s<\/a> disease is the goal of most existing treatments, but reversing it<\/a> is much harder. That’s because once neurons are lost, the adult brain lacks the ability to replace them.<\/p>\n

But new research, led by scientists at the University of South Carolina, has shown promise in regrowing neurons in brain organoids<\/a>, and restoring cognition in mouse models of Alzheimer’s.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“After just two injections, these mice became smarter,” says<\/a> Peisheng Xu, professor of pharmaceutics at the University of South Carolina and corresponding author of the new study, published in the journal Cell Biomaterials<\/a>. <\/p>\n

“Even after one injection, we already saw these mice’s behavior differ from that of the nontreated ones.”<\/p>\n

\"'Nano-ERASER'The graphical abstract of the study. (Wang et al., Cell Biomater., 2026)<\/p>\n

In 2017, scientists at the University of Cambridge and the Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry developed a technique<\/a> called Trim-Away, which uses antibodies<\/a> to degrade specific proteins in the cells of mammals, for various purposes.<\/p>\n

In 2023, the team behind the new study created a version<\/a> of Trim-Away that delivers its antibodies through an injectable polymer nanogel full of nanoparticles, which they named Nano-ERASER. In that first experiment, the researchers targeted breast cancer<\/a> cells.<\/p>\n

Now, the team has shown how Nano-ERASER could help treat Alzheimer’s. The targets this time were astrocytes<\/a>, cells in the brain that support neurons \u2013 and if needed, become new ones. <\/p>\n

According to our current understanding, this process occurs mostly during development but slows down dramatically in mature brains, and seems to be mediated by a protein called PTBP1.<\/p>\n

So, the researchers targeted PTBP1 for degradation by the Nano-ERASER system. In lab-dish-cultured brain cells and in 3D organoids, applying Nano-ERASER did seem to reduce levels of PTBP1, and triggered astrocytes to become new neurons.<\/p>\n

The team then used a microelectrode array to confirm that these converted neurons still functioned like regular ones, even forming connected networks.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But would this improve Alzheimer’s symptoms? <\/p>\n

In the next tests, the researchers experimented with mouse models of the disease, tracking changes in their brains and behavior.<\/p>\n

Mice with Alzheimer’s-like conditions often have trouble making nests, in a sad analog of human patients who might also struggle with day-to-day tasks. <\/p>\n

The team also tested their cognition and memory by putting them through water maze experiments.<\/p>\n

Sure enough, over the course of a few weeks, treated mice recovered the ability to build nests, and were able to complete the mazes more efficiently.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"'Nano-ERASER'D) The experimental schedule. E) Mouse nesting assessments over time. F) The swimming paths in the water maze experiments. G-I) The animals’ scores on the various tests. (Wang et al., Cell Biomater., 2026)<\/p>\n

The team also noted that biological markers of Alzheimer’s disease, including inflammation and the build-up of problematic proteins, seemed to improve inside their brains.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“The new neurons can become mature and survive,” says<\/a> Xu. <\/p>\n

“We also confirmed much higher neuron density in the brains of treated mice.”<\/p>\n

Of course, at this early stage, there’s no guarantee that the results will carry across to humans. But the research could provide an intriguing new angle from which to tackle Alzheimer’s.<\/p>\n

Previous research<\/a> by other teams found that reducing PTBP1 regenerated neurons and improved symptoms of Parkinson’s<\/a> disease in mice, but frustratingly, later studies<\/a> couldn’t replicate the results.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The new work seems to back up the original findings, which could be useful for reversing a range of neurodegenerative diseases.<\/p>\n

\"Subscribe<\/a><\/p>\n

“By replenishing neurons in situ, restoring synaptic architecture, and potentially rebuilding damaged circuits, induced neurogenesis offers a path not only to slow neurodegeneration but to address one of its core structural consequences,” the researchers write.<\/p>\n

Related: Scientists Found 2 Existing Drugs Could Reverse Alzheimer’s Brain Damage in Mice<\/a><\/p>\n

Before that can happen, the team first plans to test the technique over a longer period and in primates.<\/p>\n

“If we can advance it to the clinic, then we can have hope for patients with Alzheimer’s disease,” Xu says<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The research has been published in the journal Cell Biomaterials<\/a>.<\/p>\n

This article was fact-checked by Fiona MacDonald<\/a> and edited by Fiona MacDonald<\/a>. While we pride ourselves on our process, we are only human. If you spot a mistake, please let us know<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Slowing the progression of Alzheimer’s disease is the goal of most existing treatments, but reversing it is much…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":685180,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[64,63,137,2967],"class_list":["post-869276","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-health","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-health","tag-msft-content"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/869276","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=869276"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/869276\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/685180"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=869276"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=869276"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=869276"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}