Xenon gas is one of the chemically inert, or noble gases, along with neon, argon, helium, radon, and krypton. So, if it's chemically inert, you'd think that it would have no biological effect in the body. But, it turns out that's not the case. Inhaled xenon has long been used as an anesthetic -- meaning, it can interact with the nervous system. More recently, researchers have been exploring its property as a neuroprotectant in cases of hypoxia and traumatic brain injury. So would that apply to the injury to the brain caused by Alzheimer's disease?
Well, at least in mice, the answer seems to be yes. And it seems to do this by changing the behavior of microglial cells in the brain to stop them from causing inflammation. We discussed microglial cells and their likely role in Alzheimer's disease in Beating the Dementia Monster. Microglial cells are central players in the brain's unique immune system. Microglia cells cause inflammation, because inflammation helps to protect damaged tissues. But when poorly regulated, inflammation also causes damage itself, and much of our effort to control Alzheimer's is directed at tamping down inflammation.
Mice that had been bred to have a brain disorder mimicking Alzheimer's disease were placed in a chamber containing an atmosphere of 30% xenon gas and 21% oxygen -- the same oxygen as in regular air. I guess the remaining 49% was, like our normal atmosphere, nitrogen. They were exposed to this atmosphere for 40 minutes. Their microglia were examined after intervals of 3, 7, and 14 days.
Inhaling xenon gas by mice lowered amyloid plaques and reduced neurodegeneration associated with that tau tangling. The researchers went so far as to insert some human brain tissue in the brains of some mice (no, I don't know how they got it), and they found that what worked with mouse brain tissue also worked with human tissue. So, in the vernacular of the drug culture, it's now time to get some humans to huff xenon and see if this works in people.
The research with "mouse models" was published in the journal Science Translational Medicine.
You can read more here, but it gets a little deep for most of us.
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