Decades-Old ‘Water Pill’ Opens New Avenues for Alzheimer’s Treatment
The usual caveat applies:They first examined how APOE4 changes a cell’s gene expression patterns, and then compared those to people who don’t carry the mutation. Tapping into a data bank of over 1,300 drugs, they next identified candidates to restore [ApoE4] genetic patterns back to their normal, healthy state.
The result? Bumetanide, a powerful water pill approved by the FDA back in the 1980s. When given to aging mice—about 60 years old in human age—genetically engineered to have two copies of APOE4, the drug increased performance on memory and cognitive tests. In another experiment, the drug also improved Alzheimer’s symptoms, including fewer amyloid clumps, in mice with two genetic predispositions to the disorder.
While bumetanide has been used off-label for epilepsy and other brain disorders, it’s a new (and slightly bizarre) option for Alzheimer’s. It clears amyloid plaques in mouse models, suggesting however it works to do so—scientists don’t yet know—taps into the amyloid hypothesis, just in a completely unexpected way.
Wouldn't it be interesting if a ketogenic diet provides some benefit by promoting water loss to keep the body from holding onto water. Obviously ample water is key to our health and dehydration has downsides, so maybe how water is processed in the body is more critical than we knew? I don't how these dynamics in ketosis compare with those in Bumetanide. Perhaps there's some connection between ApoE4, osmolality and antidiuretic hormone?For now, these results are in mice, not men, and many drugs have failed to bridge the gap.