According to the World Health Organization (WHO), Alzheimer’s disease is the seventh most common cause of death. It is a neurological condition that primarily affects the elderly. It is the most common type of dementia caused by the loss of nerve cells and neural connections, which impairs cognitive abilities. The condition has become a major health concern due to its increasing incidence. Despite numerous efforts and a detailed understanding of the disease, the cure for Alzheimer’s disease remains elusive. Researchers are now finding hope in stem cell therapies.
Alzheimer’s Disease
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most prevalent type of dementia, generally affecting people above 65 years of age. It is a neurodegenerative disease that occurs due to neuronal loss. It leads to a decline in behavioral and cognitive skills. Therefore, it impacts a person’s memory, reasoning, judgment, language, etc. Although it does not affect the lifespan of an individual, it increases the susceptibility to other disorders. The mild symptoms turn severe as the disease progresses.
AD is classified into different stages depending on the levels of cognitive decline and disability- preclinical (presymptomatic), mild, and dementia stage. The dementia stage has further classification into mild, moderate, and severe stages.
Alzheimer’s Disease Symptoms
Initial symptoms manifest as short-term memory loss. The affected individuals find retaining new information or recalling long-term memories difficult. Eventually, other cognitive skills such as problem-solving, reasoning, judgment, and organizational skills also diminish. The patients might struggle with handling multiple tasks simultaneously as well as daily activities such as financial planning, driving, cooking, etc. The early signs also include language disorder and difficulty in spatial relationships. Moderate to late stages also exhibit psychiatric symptoms such as agitation, psychosis, social isolation, apathy, etc. In the late stage, individuals suffer from abnormal postures, sleep disorders, visual disorders, and difficulty in performing learned motor tasks. Gradually, patients develop a dependency on caregivers.
Alzheimer’s Disease Causes
AD is a multifactorial disorder involving several risk factors.
Genetic Factors: Many genetic changes, especially trisomy 21, are associated with early onset of AD. Additionally, mutations in AAP, PSEN1, APOE4, and PSEN2 genes also cause AD.
Age: Advancing age is the key risk factor of AD. Research indicates that the risk doubles every 5 years, starting at 65 years of age.
Cardiovascular Disorders: These disorders also contribute to the incidence of AD.
Obesity and Diabetes: Both of them elevate the risk of developing AD by increasing inflammation. High glucose levels in diabetes can promote the accumulation of amyloid plaque, which is responsible for AD.
Head injury, cerebrovascular disease, smoking, depression, etc., are a few other risk factors for AD.
The accepted pathological mechanism for AD is amyloid plaque formation. Two enzymes cleave amyloid precursor protein routinely into amyloid-beta peptides in the brain. The excessive levels of these peptides induce their aggregation in the brain, leading to neuronal toxicity. They further result in loss of nerve connection in neurons and impaired release of acetylcholine neurotransmitter. Tau is another protein present in this disorder. Tau hyperphosphorylation elevates neuroinflammation and levels of amyloid-beta peptides, resulting in neurodegeneration.
Alzheimer’s Disease Treatment
There is no cure for AD presently. The available treatments only mitigate symptoms. These include cholinesterase inhibitors and N-methyl D-aspartate (NMDA) antagonists. The former acts by inhibiting the enzymes that degrade acetylcholine, and the latter blocks the NMDA receptors, thus slowing the accumulation of intracellular calcium. These drugs, alone or in combination, improve the symptoms. Antidepressants and antipsychotics can treat the psychological aspect of the disorder. Scientists have introduced immunotherapies as new Alzheimer’s treatments in 2025. They are monoclonal antibodies that remove amyloid-beta plaque. However, they demonstrated severe side effects termed ARIAs (amyloid-related imaging abnormalities). They led to blood vessel leakage and inflammation in the brain. Therefore, a new approach is required for better outcomes and safety.
Stem Cell Therapy
Regenerative medicine can prove effective in restoring neuronal loss in AD. Mesenchymal stem cells also show angiogenic, anti-inflammatory, and immune-modulating properties that can combat the abnormality in the immune system in the case of ARIAs. A phase 2 trial assessed the effects of therapy for almost 9 months. The therapy was well-tolerated and did not show any events of ARIAs. There were improvements in cognitive skills, demonstrating a delay in disease progression. Additionally, the study demonstrated an increase in brain volume and reduction of inflammation. In 2025, results of a Phase I trial came out. It employed activated mesenchymal stem cells and showed a decrease in tau proteins and an improvement in cognitive scores.
Conclusion
Alzheimer’s causes a disabling cognitive decline, increasing the reliance on caregivers. The pathological mechanisms and the underlying genetic factors have been explored. However, a cure has still not emerged. Novel immunotherapies were formulated but could not ensure safety in patients, leading to their failure. Therefore, stem cell therapy has proven to be safe in many clinical trials, encouraging their use for AD. Its regenerative potential can restore neural loss and low neural connectivity. The therapy showed improvements in cognitive functions and brain physiology in early clinical trials. It was well tolerated in patients. Although stem cell therapy needs standardization, it could essentially transform into a promising AD treatment. Advancells is keeping up this hope by providing high-quality stem cells.
