Groundbreaking Study Reveals Noscapine’s Potential in Alzheimer’s Treatment
--
Every 65 seconds, someone in America is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s — the most common form of dementia in the world.
Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) is a brain disorder that gradually impairs a person’s memory and ability to think clearly.
It is different from the ordinary type of forgetfulness that we all experience and contrary to what some people may believe, is not considered “just a regular part of the aging process”.
In fact, changes in the brain of a person with Alzheimer’s begin to form decades before a person displays any symptoms of the disease.
Alzheimer’s disease is reportedly becoming more common as the general population is living increasingly longer than in previous generations.
People with Alzheimer’s experience a continuous pattern of memory lapses that become increasingly disruptive to daily life and noticeable to others. They often also display symptoms such as depression, anxiety, and sleep difficulties.
Most frequently, people present symptoms for approximately three to five years before they are officially diagnosed. In the beginning stages of AD, a person may begin to get lost in familiar areas and have a hard time remembering recent events or the names of people they know. As the disease progresses over the course of years, the ability to recognize and communicate with people is gradually lost. People with AD eventually become unable to respond to their environment and are completely dependent on others to take care of them.
The speed at which AD progresses is highly individual and varies greatly between those affected. While the disease is ultimately fatal, some people can live for more than twenty years with Alzheimer’s. Early diagnosis and treatment can help to improve life expectancy as well as quality of life.
There are medications available that temporarily help memory loss and manage behavioral symptoms in AD patients. Most medicines work best for people in the early or middle stages of Alzheimer’s. Non-drug treatments such as social interaction, physical exercise, and engagement in meaningful activities also greatly improve the quality of life for people with Alzheimer’s.
An enormous amount of progress has been made in the last decade in the diagnosis and treatment of Alzheimer’s and there is hope that someday there will be a cure.
All over the world, scientists are working to find better ways to both treat and prevent AD by investigating its causes and the underlying process of AD’s effect on the brain. New medications and interventions are currently being developed and tested for AD treatment. As Alzheimer’s is extremely complex, successful treatment will most likely eventually involve a combination of medications designed to treat various aspects of the disease.
One medication that is currently showing great potential in the treatment of AD is Noscapine, a non-addictive, naturally occurring alkaloid that is derived from the opium plant.
The fascinating history, versatility, and potential of Noscapine to treat a wide variety of conditions with virtually no side effects have caused Noscapine to be referred to by scientists as a “renaissance drug” and a “medicinal hero”.
Noscapine is a powerful and effective bradykinin inhibitor. Bradykinin is a protein released in the blood that contributes to neuro-inflammation and is involved in the production of beta-amyloid protein, which drives Alzheimer’s progression. As neuro-inflammation aggravates AD, scientists are researching the role of bradykinin inhibitors like Noscapine in AD treatment. Studies have shown that bradykinin inhibitors significantly improve cognition, learning and memory performances, and cerebrovascular function in AD models.
People with Alzheimer’s disease have an impairment in cerebral blood flow. Cerebral blood flow is essential for the support of proper brain function. Bradykinin inhibitors normalize cerebral blood-flow function which can help Alzheimer’s patients. Noscapine’s ability to inhibit bradykinin has also been used to treat other medical conditions, such as stroke and many different types of cancer.
There has been substantial evidence that chronic hypoperfusion (reduced blood flow) in the brain plays a major part in the development of Alzheimer’s disease. In 2019, a breakthrough study conducted by prominent researchers in Switzerland was published on the use of Noscapine in AD treatment. In the study, Noscapine was administered to animals with induced Alzheimer’s cerebral amyloidosis. Functional MRI testing revealed that long-term oral Noscapine treatment resulted in a recovery of cerebral vascular function and alleviated brain hypoperfusion. The study’s authors conclude that more extensive studies are called for in order to fully demonstrate the remarkable potential of Noscapine treatment on AD.
Noscapine can conveniently be administered orally and its effects begin immediately. It is not known to interact with any medications, other than the anticoagulant warfarin. The only side effect of Noscapine which has been reported by some users is nausea if taken at extremely high doses (3,000 mg daily). While the optimal human dose of noscapine for treating AD won’t be known for some years yet, the dose reportedly being used by patients with other neurological disorders is around 1,000–1,500 mg daily, in divided doses.
Article Resources:
