Announcements
Promising New Approaches Based on the Biology of Aging Take Spotlight in the Fight Against Alzheimer’s Disease
September 7, 2023
Category: Research Update
New Nature Medicine Study Finds Senescent Cell Treatment Safe and Tolerable
NEW YORK—September 7, 2023—Promising results from a study supported by the Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation (ADDF) were published today in Nature Medicine, adding to the growing body of evidence that novel approaches against Alzheimer’s disease based on the underlying mechanisms of aging will guide the next generation of therapeutics. Until recently, drug development research has been largely focused on Alzheimer’s pathology, with anti-amyloid and anti-tau treatments at the forefront, but these findings come at a critical moment as the field shifts focus to alternative treatment strategies targeting the biology of aging with combination therapy.
The study, conducted by Miranda Orr, PhD, associate professor of gerontology and geriatric medicine at Wake Forest University School of Medicine and Goodes Prize recipient, and co-led by Mitzi Gonzales, PhD, of University of Texas Health San Antonio, showed a positive safety and tolerability profile of the senoyltic drug combination, dasatinib and quercetin, in patients with early-stage Alzheimer’s. These findings support the ADDF’s larger mission to advance innovative approaches through the development of novel therapeutics and biomarkers for Alzheimer's disease that extend beyond anti-tau and anti-amyloid treatments.
“Dr. Orr's findings cannot have come at a better moment. Aging is the leading risk factor for Alzheimer’s, and as we continue to identify new treatments it is crucial that we develop pleiotropic drugs targeting the underlying aging mechanisms and novel biomarkers to help accelerate these trials,” says Howard Fillit, MD, Co-Founder and Chief Science Officer of the ADDF. “The ADDF has long supported a diverse and robust therapeutics portfolio, and we are encouraged that more than 75% of drug candidates in today’s pipeline target novel pathways.”
“This will ultimately lead us closer to the day when we will have multiple therapies, which can be used in combination to target biological processes that drive aging, like senescence, in our fight against Alzheimer’s,” says Dr. Fillit.
The study is based on targeting senescent cells: old cells that function abnormally and do not die off when they should. When these cells—also known as "zombie cells"—remain in the body, they release chemicals that affect healthy tissues and trigger inflammation, increasing the likelihood of aging processes, neurodegeneration and cancer1.
Dr. Orr’s previous research has shown that the combination of dasatinib and quercetin effectively targets and kills senescent brain cells in Alzheimer’s mouse models, and she is now conducting a Phase II study with the ADDF support to evaluate the effects of clearing senescent cells with combination therapy, building on the success of the Phase I study.
“We are so grateful for the support of Dr. Fillit and the ADDF, and we commend them for continuing to champion important research that investigates biological aging as an underlying cause of Alzheimer’s disease,” says Dr. Orr. “While this is an early study and the results should be treated with caution, the outcomes allow us to move forward with a larger placebo-controlled Phase II trial.”
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