Association Between Alzheimer's and High Brain Iron to Be Tested in New Clinical Trial

A study published in Molecular Psychiatry implies high iron levels in the brain may activate the progressive neurodegeneration associated with dementia and Alzheimer's, reports New Atlas . A clinical trial currently underway is investigating whether Alzheimer's-related cognitive decline can be decelerated by reducing those iron levels. Brain tissue samples from more than 200 donors were analyzed, which showed a strong correlation between elevated brain iron levels, severe cognitive decline, and high buildup of amyloid proteins. However, cognitive decline was only observed in subjects with both high amyloid accumulations and high iron levels, while subjects with high amyloid accumulation in the absence of high brain iron levels did not appear to exhibit the same deterioration. "Our data do not prove that iron causes disease progression in Alzheimer's disease, but the strong association we discovered invites the possibility that iron is a big contributing factor to cognitive decline in Alzheimer's disease," said Scott Ayton with the Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health. The researchers are now conducting a phase 2 clinical trial, using the drug deferiprone, to determine whether lowering brain iron levels can slow disease progression.