Can the “love hormone” cure dementia, which is called “the saddest disease in the world”? Recent research findings raise expectations that oxytocin may help treat cognitive impairment caused by Alzheimer’s disease (AD).
Oxytocin, which also plays an important role in childbirth and breastfeeding, is associated with attachment. For this reason it is also called “the love hormone”.
A team of researchers at Tokyo University of Science and Technology found that when an oxytocin derivative was administered nasally in a rat experiment, cognitive impairment was improved, the U.S. health media recently reported. Medical News Today (MNT).
The researchers hope the findings may provide another option for treating Alzheimer’s in a clinical setting.
Alzheimer’s disease is the most common degenerative disease that causes dementia. In the early stages of onset, there is a problem with memory, but as the disease progresses, various cognitive impairments such as language function and judgment occur. Neurological disorders such as stiffness and gait abnormalities can occur, and complications such as urinary incontinence, infections, and pressure sores can occur.
As the aging population accelerates, the number of dementia patients in Korea is also rapidly increasing. According to data from the National Statistics Office, in 2020 there will be 840 thousand people with dementia among the elderly over the age of 65. The prevalence of dementia over the age of 65 is 10.3%, with 1 in 10 elderly people suffering from dementia.
Of the 840,000 patients with dementia over the age of 65, 632,305, or 76%, suffer from Alzheimer’s. As the proportion of the elderly population increases due to an aging population, the number of dementia patients is set to increase rapidly in the future.
The situation is similar in developed countries with a high proportion of the elderly population. According to a report from the Alzheimer’s Association of America in 2021, 6.2 million people over the age of 65 in the United States will have Alzheimer’s disease. The report predicts that the number of Alzheimer’s patients will rise to 13.8 million by 2060 if effective preventive treatment is not available.
There is still no fundamental cure for Alzheimer’s disease. However, drugs that are effective in relieving symptoms and delaying the progression of the disease are used in the clinical setting.
Researchers at Tokyo University of Science and Technology found that when an oxytocin derivative was injected into the nasal cavity of memory-impaired mice last month, cognitive impairment was improved in the mice.
Although the study used non-human mice, the results raised expectations that oxytocin could potentially be used to reduce cognitive impairment associated with Alzheimer’s disease.
Researchers at Tokyo University of Science and Technology had previously found that oxytocin helped increase synaptic plasticity in the brain.
“These findings suggest that oxytocin may help improve the cognitive decline seen in Alzheimer’s,” Medical News Today said.
“Delivering peptide hormones such as oxytocin to the brain is a challenge,” said Dr. “We have done something new to make mass transfer easier.” However, he said, “How this study applies to humans remains to be seen.”
