US EditionCommon Drug Could Stop Alzheimer’s Process ‘Before It Even Begins’
Levetiracetam slows synaptic vesicle cycling to reduce toxic amyloid-beta 42 production, potentially delaying early Alzheimer’s pathology by targeting presynaptic protein degradation, researchers say.
- Now published in Science Translational Medicine, Northwestern University scientists report that levetiracetam prevents amyloid-beta 42 production and early plaque formation in Alzheimer’s models.
- The researchers traced the cause to amyloid‑beta 42 accumulating in synaptic vesicles and impaired presynaptic protein degradation occurring early in amyloid pathology.
- Laboratory experiments revealed that levetiracetam binds SV2A, slows synaptic vesicle cycling, increases APP cell-surface expression, and reduces amyloid plaque pathology and memory deficits in models.
- Clinical data mining showed levetiracetam use linked to delayed decline-to-death in Alzheimer’s patients versus lorazepam, but its small benefit requires 'very, very early' use, possibly 20 years before detection.
- Going forward, the team intends to develop longer‑lasting levetiracetam versions and target patients with Down syndrome, where more than 95% develop early Alzheimer’s, with clinical trials already underway.
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Levetiracetam prevents the formation of plaques associated with the disease, according to one study
While anti-alzhéimer medicines remove existing plaques, anti-epileptic prevents the production of toxic beta-amyloid peptides
Research suggests that this drug could act at very early stages of the disease, even decades before the first symptoms
Old seizure drug may stop Alzheimer’s plaques before they form, study suggests
Scientists at Northwestern University say a common anti-seizure medication may be able to prevent the earliest steps of Alzheimer’s disease—long before memory loss begins. In a study published in Science Translational Medicine, researchers discovered how a particularly harmful protein linked to Alzheimer’s builds up inside brain cells. Even more surprising, they found that levetiracetam, a […] The post Old seizure drug may stop Alzheimer’s plaqu…
Common anti-seizure drug prevents Alzheimer’s plaques from forming
Northwestern University scientists have pinpointed when and where toxic proteins accumulate within the brains of Alzheimer’s patients — and discovered a decades-old Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved drug that can stop the accumulation process before it even begins.
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