Texas A&M partners to rethink Alzheimer's
More than five million Americans are currently living with Alzheimer’s disease. How we find a cure is one of the most vexing questions faced by the medical world. But thanks to a new partnership with Houston-based biotechnology company Celltex, the Texas A&M Institute for Regenerative Medicine is searching for the answer.
Known for its trademark stem cell process, Celltex is able to use a special type of stem cell-derived exosome which can multiply and differentiate into a number of different types of cells to regenerate adult cells in record-breaking quantities. This technology has been used for therapies in a broad range of conditions including vascular, autoimmune and degenerative diseases.
Led by Darwin J. Prockop, MD, Ph.D., and Ashok K. Shetty, Ph.D., Texas A&M will work to leverage this technology to determine whether the Celltex exosomes can reduce brain inflammation and repair neuronal damage in Alzheimer’s patients. The research group will step beyond palliative therapies currently used to treat the disease in search of a treatment for its underlying causes.
The group hopes the cells will be able to delay neuronal damage caused by the disease, if not stop it altogether. Barring prevention, they hope the anti-inflammatory effects of the therapy can bolster surviving neurons in already-diagnosed patients.
With this historic collaboration, Texas A&M is setting the stage for bold new research opportunities that will change the way we think about Alzheimer’s disease. Together, we stand at the forefront of innovation and strive ahead for those in need.
