CLEVELAND (WJW) — An Alzheimer’s diagnosis changes everything.
Brain function begins to decline until it no longer works.
It’s a slow decline that takes a toll not only on the patient, but on those who love them.
A new study from a University Hospital team hopes to be the first step in reversing the disease. It all started with research into one of the major risk factors for Alzheimer’s disease: traumatic brain injury.
Protesters gather in Painesville to speak out against ICE
Dr. Andrew Pieper, a professor of psychiatry and neuroscience at Case Western Reserve University and University Hospitals, said the research team looked at the enzyme nicotinamide adenine dinucleotidase, or NAD.
NAD enzymes are found in all living cells and help maintain the energy levels each cell needs to repair itself. In patients with Alzheimer’s disease, NAD enzyme function is reduced.
The team put the human gene that causes Alzheimer’s disease into mice, he said. When mice developed Alzheimer’s disease, they treated them with a compound they created to restore the NAD enzyme.
“When we finally decoded it, we were delighted to see that…we had reversed many different pathological features in the brain, and we fully restored cognitive function—as if the animals had never had the disease in the first place,” Pieper said.
“We put them through a series of different behavioral tests. Some of them were learning and memory tests, and their abilities were fully restored.”
But mice are mice, and people are people, and Pieper stresses strongly that initial results in mice may not transfer to human brains — human trials are still years away.
He said the discovery marked the first time the disease’s effects on the brain had been reversed, and the study was just a first step.
“I think this is at least a proof of principle that we should seriously consider that in humans, forms of dementia may not necessarily be as irreversible as traditionally thought,” Pieper said.
Next I-77 project could last until 2031
The doctor again said researchers are still years away from starting any kind of human studies and are still working through the data.
But he said taking care of physical health through good diet and sleep, and brain health through stimulating activity, can go a long way in preventing Alzheimer’s disease.
Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
For the latest news, weather, sports and streaming video, head to Fox 8 Cleveland WJW.