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A paper published today in the journal Cell Reports Medicine offers new hope for an Alzheimer’s drug that doesn’t just slow cognitive decline but may reverse it. The study, by researchers at the University of Colorado Anschutz, found that Leukine or GM-CSF, a drug long-approved to treat other conditions, was able to stop brain cells from dying in Alzheimer’s patients when measured in a blood test. Brain cell death is a hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease. “The main thing that we found…is that the people who were treated with Leukine or GM-CSF actually lost the ability to kill their nerve cells…to...

New study shows GM-CSF reduces AD pathology and eliminates memory lossTampa, FL (August 23, 2010) -- A signaling protein released during rheumatoid arthritis dramatically reduced Alzheimer's disease pathology and reversed the memory impairment of mice bred to develop symptoms of the neurodegenerative disease, a new study by the University of South Florida reports. Researchers found that the protein, GM-CSF, likely stimulates the body's natural scavenger cells to attack and remove Alzheimer's amyloid deposits in the brain. The study appears online today in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease. People with rheumatoid arthritis, a chronic disease leading to inflammation of joints and...