While growing evidence suggests a link between blood iron levels and the development of Alzheimer’s disease, new research investigating the effects of an existing iron-reducing drug has raised concerns about its use to treat the condition.

With agingIron deposits in different brain regions can disrupt normal cognitive functions. Studies They found that iron plays a role in the development of Alzheimer’s disease. excessive iron levels It contributes to the accumulation of beta-amyloid and the formation of tangles in the brain that promote neurodegeneration.

Therefore, drugs that reduce iron overload by binding to iron, a process called chelation, have received much attention as potential treatments for Alzheimer’s disease. However, new research examining the effects of a particular iron chelator drug on the progression of Alzheimer’s has raised alarm.

The study was carried out in collaboration with Australian institutions such as the Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health (The Florey), the University of Melbourne, the University of New South Wales (UNSW), Monash University, Curtin University, and the Queensland Brain Institute. Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) and Newcastle University.

Researchers investigated the drug deferiprone, an iron chelator often used to remove excess iron in people with certain blood disorders (thalassemia, sickle cell anemia) who have too much iron in their bodies due to repeated blood transfusions. The 12-month clinical trial was conducted in 81 patients over the age of 54 with mild cognitive impairment or early Alzheimer’s disease and confirmed amyloid deposition. Participants were randomized to receive oral deferiprone 15 mg/kg twice daily or placebo. The primary outcome was improvement in cognitive function (memory, executive function and attention), which researchers assessed at baseline, six and 12 months. Secondary outcomes included change in brain iron levels.

MRIs showed that, compared with patients in the placebo group, those treated with deferiprone had reduced iron levels in the hippocampus, a region of the brain heavily involved in memory. However, while it lowered iron levels in the brain, patients taking the drug generally showed accelerated cognitive decline, primarily due to worsened performance on executive function tests. Executive functioning is the term given to the higher-order mental processes that enable us to plan, focus our attention, remember, and juggle multiple tasks.

Researchers say trial findings suggest that lowering iron levels using deferiprone worsens the condition in people with Alzheimer’s disease.

The research was published in the journal JAMA Neurology.

Source: Scimex