VA Research Wrap Up: New findings on Alzheimer’s disease, aging and pancreatic cancer

VA’s Office of Research and Development recently published three News Briefs highlighting research findings on Alzheimer’s disease, returning Veterans to home after nursing care and pancreatic cancer.

Researchers reverse Alzheimer’s disease in mouse model

Since its discovery, Alzheimer’s disease has been considered irreversible. But researchers from the Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center and colleagues developed a molecular compound that both blocked the onset of Alzheimer’s disease and restored cognitive function in advanced disease stages in a mouse model.

Using analysis of the brains of humans with Alzheimer’s and also mouse models, the researchers learned that a drop in an enzyme called NAD+, which helps maintain energy balance in brain cells, is a major driver of the disease. Treating mice with a medication developed by the researchers restored NAD+ balance, which prevented Alzheimer’s from advancing—and even reversed the disease progression in animals with an advanced condition. The groundbreaking findings suggest for the first time that Alzheimer’s disease may be treatable by addressing the brain’s energy balance. View the full study from “Cell Reports Medicine.”

Pilot program helped Veterans return home after nursing care

A VA study showed that the VA “Nursing Home to Home” pilot program, which allows aging Veterans to safely transition from nursing homes to their own homes, not only honored Veterans’ wishes but also created significant cost savings.

The pilot program helped 24 Veterans staying at VA-paid community nursing homes after hospitalization to transition back to living in the community. Surveys of the Veterans and their caregivers revealed high satisfaction with the program, and long-term services and support programs helped keep the Veterans safe and continuing to receive appropriate care. The program also showed an average of $5,500 lower costs per Veteran per month compared to nursing home care. The pilot program offers an innovative means of supporting Veterans’ wishes to age in place while also reducing expenses. View the full study from the “Journal of the American Medical Director’s Association.”

New chemotherapy treatment could help fight pancreatic cancer

Kansas City VA researchers created a potential technique to deliver chemotherapy for pancreatic cancer more effectively and safely than currently available methods.

The chemotherapy drug tunicamycin has shown promise for treating pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, but it is very toxic when free within the body. The researchers developed a biodegradable nano-capsule that can deliver the drug directly to cancerous cells without releasing it to other parts of the body. In mouse models, this method reduced tumor growth and drug resistance while markedly prolonging survival. The results suggest administering tunicamycin with this innovative delivery method could provide an effective first-line treatment for pancreatic cancer, one of the leading causes of cancer death worldwide. View the full study from “Molecular Therapy Oncology.”

For more Office of Research and Development updates, visit ORD online or go to https://www.research.va.gov/news_briefs/.