Scientists could reverse Alzheimer’s symptoms

By Admin

27 Dec, 2025

For more than a century, Alzheimer’s disease has been regarded as an irreversible condition, with treatments aimed only at slowing its progression. However, a new scientific study from the United States suggests this long-held belief may not always be true. Researchers report that they were able to reverse severe Alzheimer’s symptoms in animal models, restoring memory and brain function rather than merely delaying decline.

Understanding Alzheimer’s as an irreversible disease
Alzheimer’s has traditionally been viewed as a one-way process, where brain damage steadily worsens over time. As a result, most therapies focus on prevention or slowing cognitive deterioration. According to the researchers, no drug has ever been tested in humans with the goal of fully reversing Alzheimer’s. This new research challenges that assumption by targeting the underlying biology of brain cell energy failure.

The role of NAD+ and brain energy imbalance
The study, reported by Qazinform News Agency citing Case Western Reserve University, focused on how brain cells produce and manage energy. Scientists discovered that levels of a critical energy molecule called NAD+ are sharply reduced in the brains of people with Alzheimer’s. The same significant decline was observed in mice engineered to develop the disease.
While NAD+ levels naturally decrease with age, the researchers found that in Alzheimer’s this imbalance is far more severe, causing brain cells to struggle with basic functions and eventually fail.

Testing the approach in Alzheimer’s mouse models
To explore whether restoring energy balance could repair the brain, the team studied two different mouse models of Alzheimer’s. One model reflected damage caused by amyloid plaque buildup, while the other focused on tau protein-related degeneration. Both models developed memory loss and brain damage similar to advanced Alzheimer’s in humans.

The researchers treated the mice with a laboratory-developed drug called P7C3-A20, designed to help brain cells maintain healthy energy levels. When administered early, the drug prevented Alzheimer’s symptoms from appearing. More remarkably, when given after the disease had already advanced, it allowed the brain to repair itself.

Reversal of symptoms and restored brain function
After treatment, the mice showed major improvements in brain health and fully regained cognitive abilities. Blood tests also returned to normal for a biomarker commonly used in people to track Alzheimer’s progression. This strongly suggested that the disease process itself had been reversed, not just slowed.

How this drug differs from NAD+ supplements
Andrew Pieper, the senior author of the study, emphasized that this approach is very different from over-the-counter supplements marketed to boost NAD+. Such supplements can raise NAD+ levels too high, which may be unsafe. In contrast, P7C3-A20 helps cells maintain a healthy balance of NAD+ without pushing levels beyond normal limits.

What this means for patients and future research
The researchers cautioned that these findings currently apply only to animal studies. Carefully designed clinical trials in humans will be essential to determine whether the same recovery is possible in patients with Alzheimer’s disease.
The research was conducted by a team from Case Western Reserve University, University Hospitals, and the Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center, and was published online on December 22 in Cell Reports Medicine.

While human trials are still needed, this study represents a significant shift in how scientists think about Alzheimer’s. Instead of being an irreversible condition, the disease may one day be treatable in a way that restores memory and brain function—offering real hope to millions of patients and families worldwide.