Inhaling GAS could protect against Alzheimer’s disease, according to an ‘exciting’ new finding

Inhaling a gas sometimes used to improve athletic performance could be a new way to fight Alzheimer’s disease, according to the results of an ‘exciting’ US study.

Scientists found that inhaling xenon improved brain health and problem-solving skills, which could potentially help fight the currently incurable disease.

Xenon is an extremely expensive gas that is odorless and colorless. It is normally used as rocket fuel or as an anesthetic, but has also been touted as a potential tool to help mountain climbers scale Everest.

In the new study, conducted by researchers from Mass General Brigham and the Washington University School of Medicine in the US, researchers sought to explore its potential as a treatment for Alzheimer’s disease.

Scientists initially conducted the tests on mice, but scientists say the results are so promising that they plan to start a human trial in the coming months.

Senior author, Dr. Oleg Butovsky, an expert in neurological diseases at Brigham, said: ‘It’s a very new discovery that shows that simply inhaling an inert gas can have such a profound neuroprotective effect.’

‘One of the main limitations in the research and treatment of Alzheimer’s disease is that it is extremely difficult to design drugs that can cross the blood-brain barrier, but xenon gas can.

‘We look forward to testing this new approach in humans.’

In multiple experiments, the mice were given a 30 percent dose of xenon gas once a week, with their behavior monitored over the following weeks and their brains examined at the end of the study.

In each test, a separate group of mice also received normal air as a control.

Scientists found that mice given xenon had reduced inflammation in their brains, had better brain health overall, were better at tasks like nest building and also had a stronger immune cell response in the organ, linked to improved cognition .

These results suggest that the gas could provide a potential treatment for Alzheimer’s disease.

Xenon gas has previously been used in medicine as an anesthetic and as a way to protect the brain during the treatment of injuries to the organ.

Its chemical structure allows it to easily slip through the blood-brain barrier, an internal system designed to protect the brain but which can also make it difficult for drugs to reach the organ.

Alzheimer’s disease is the most common cause of dementia, a memory-robbing disorder that is devastating the lives of almost a million Britons.

What causes Alzheimer’s disease to develop is unknown, but it is characterized by the toxic buildup of proteins in the brain called tau and amyloid, which disrupt the function of brain cells and ultimately lead to death.

Alzheimer’s disease is the most common cause of dementia. The disease can cause anxiety, confusion and short-term memory loss

Researchers said an exciting aspect of their study was how they found that xenon had a protective effect on two groups of mice used in the experiment, one with amyloid buildup in the brain and the other with tau buildup.

They are now planning a human clinical trial, which will take place at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts.

The early stages of the trial will attempt to determine aspects such as how safe it is and what dosage, while the research team also continues to investigate the exact mechanisms of how xenon gas appears to work in combating Alzheimer’s disease.

Fellow author Dr. Howard Weiner, also of Brigham, said that if all goes well, xenon gas could also potentially be used for a range of other conditions that affect the brain, such as multiple sclerosis, a condition in which the nerves no longer function properly.

“It could open the door to new treatments for helping patients with neurological disorders,” he said.

The results of the study have been published in the journal Scientific translational medicine.

The team also stated that they are investigating technologies to potentially recycle xenon gas.

Xenon gas has become unaffordable in recent years.

Around 900,000 Britons are currently thought to suffer from memory theft disorder. But scientists at University College London estimate that this number will rise to 1.7 million within 20 years as people live longer. It represents an increase of 40 percent compared to the previous forecast in 2017

Prices have risen particularly high since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which was the world’s largest producer of noble gases.

Recent analysis by the Alzheimer’s Society estimates that the total annual cost of dementia to Britain is £42 billion per year, with families bearing the brunt.

An aging population means these costs – including the lost income of unpaid caregivers – are expected to rise to £90 billion over the next fifteen years.

It is thought that around 944,000 people in Britain are living with dementia, while in the US the figure is around 7 million.

Alzheimer’s disease affects approximately six in ten people with dementia.

Memory problems, thinking and reasoning problems, and language problems are common early symptoms of the condition, which then worsen over time.

A separate analysis from Alzheimer’s Research UK found that 74,261 people died from dementia in 2022, up from 69,178 a year earlier, making it the country’s biggest killer.