Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) is a neurological disorder that causes the brain to undergo atrophy or shrinkage. AD causes the death of the brain cells, which tend to progress with time. The most common cause of it is dementia. 

Dementia causes a decline in thinking, including social and behavioral skills, which affects the ability of a patient to function properly (independently). 

In the United States, approximately 5.8 million patients have Alzheimer’s Disease over 65 years. However, patients over 75 years have an 80% incidence of suffering from it. 

In the advanced stages, complications of AD can cause intense damage to the brain functions, such as infections, malnutrition, dehydration, and eventually death. 

The early symptoms may start from forgetting the recent conversations or events in the patient’s life. The progression of the disease may cause severe impairments to memory and the inability of the patients to carry out tasks. 

According to scientists, patients with AD have several genetic, environmental, and lifestyle factors which change over time and affect the brain. 

Two proteins play a vital role in its pathology of it:

Tau protein: plays a critical role in the internal transport and support system of neurons for carrying the essential materials and nutrients across the neurons. In Alzheimer’s Disease, these Tau proteins change their structure and shape into neurofibrillary tangles, which disrupt the cellular transport system by making them toxic.

Beta-amyloid proteins are larger protein fragments that form clusters to give toxicity to neurons. These accumulations of proteins disrupt cell-to-cell connection or communication. These large protein clusters make amyloid deposits, including cellular debris as well. 

• Genetics and family history: First-degree relatives have more chances of acquiring the disease than other relations. Besides the family history, a genetic variation of a specific gene (APOE e4 allele) may also be a significant cause of AD.

• Age and gender: Alzheimer’s Disease is not a normal sign of aging, but the risks increase with age. Regarding the gender of patients, women have more risk because they have longer lives and more potential for developing this disease.

• Down Syndrome:  Down Syndrome has three copies of a chromosome known as chromosome 21, which causes more accumulation of beta-amyloid protein. AD starts approximately 10-20 years earlier than the general population in Down Syndrome patients.

• Traumatic head injuries: A population with more than 50 years and a history of TBI (traumatic brain injury) has more chances of developing Alzheimer’s Disease and dementia. Multiple injuries or TBIs can also cause advanced complications of the disease. Within the first 6-months to 2-years of the injury, the risks are always higher. 

In AD, the most concerning symptoms of the disease are:

• Memory loss: It can worsen with time in patients. A slight decline in memory is a general problem with age, but AD patients have progressive damage.

Patients may:

• Ask the same questions or the statements repeatedly.

• Forget important events, appointments, and conversations.

• Misplace worthy possessions. 

• Get lost in a well-acquainted place or forget the names of their family members.

• Have trouble finding appropriate names and words for the objects to identify them.

Changes in brain functioning may cause:

• Apathy and depression

• Social withdrawal and social isolation

• Mood swings and distrust in everyone

• Aggressiveness and irritability

• Changed sleeping habits and wandering

• Loss of creative thinking and judgment

• Inability to take imperative decisions

• Problem-solving difficulty

• Difficult multitasking

• Difficulty concentrating and focusing

The treatment of AD with medications is based on two types of drugs:

• Namenda (Memantine): A drug for slowing disease progression and improve brain cell communication.

• Cholinesterase inhibitors: Drugs that work in boosting cell-to-cell communication in the brain by preventing the depletion of chemical messengers. These drugs are the first-line treatment of the disease as Exelon (rivastigmine), Razadyne (galantamine), and Aricept (donepezil).

All the treatment options for Alzheimer’s Disease have been temporary options for just treating the symptoms. With the invention of Stem Cells Replacement Therapy, hopes and prognosis of the disease treatment have been raised. Stem Cells (SC) are immature cells that may differentiate into any cell type when injected.

SC can be derived from:

• Embryo (Embryonic Stem Cells)

• Neural (Neural Stem Cells)

• Pluripotent cells (Induced Pluripotent Cells)

  1 Embryonic Stem Cells: Are the derivatives of pluripotent blastocysts, which can generate the cells from the endoderm, mesoderm, and ectoderm.

  ECS Therapy can improve memory and spatial learning among patients with AD. One of the greatest benefits of Stem Cells Therapy through ESC is pluripotency.

  2. Mesenchymal Stem Cells: These cells are found in the bone marrow, adipose tissues, umbilical cord (for extraction), and stem cell pupae. These cells aid in mesenchymal tissue development. Stem Cells are mostly taken from the umbilical cord blood, which stays as a residue of the placenta after the birth of a child.

Several studies claim that mesenchymal Stem Cells can help in:

• Reduction of beta-amyloid protein plaques.

• Hyperphosphorylation of tau and BACE protein

• Reversing the microglial inflammation

• Promoting the activating of anti-inflammatory cytokines

3. Neural Stem Cells:

Neural Stem Cells are abundantly present in the brain, granular layer of the hippocampus (dentate gyrus), and subventricular areas. The neural stem cells are self-renewing cells (pluripotent) that can further produce astrocytes, oligodendrocytes, and other neurons.

Neurological Diseases have a high rate of fatality and incapacitation, which prevents the proper functioning of different parts of the brain. Stroke, Parkinson's disease, and Alzheimer's disease are the most common neurological disorders, which can cause severe damage to brain tissues and cells. The traditional treatment of these diseases consists of endovascular thrombectomy (ET), IV-tPA (intravenous tissue plasminogen activator), and other medications. 

One of the modern treatment techniques for neurological disorders is the use of Exosomes along with Stem Cell Therapy. According to the research data, exosomes can improve angiogenesis, ischemic boundary zone neurogenesis, neurite remodeling, and synaptic plasticity. Many researchers claim that the conjunction of Stem Cell Therapy and Exosomes can upgrade the functional, tissue levels, and even cellular recovery in individuals with neurological diseases and damages. 

Intravenous Mesenchymal Stem Cells, along with Exosomes administration, can help with improved white matter integrity by inducing different responses post-stroke as:

· Oligodendrogenesis

· Remyelination

· Axonal sprouting

Moreover, Exosomes also enhance the expression of microRNAs such as miR-133b, miR-210, miR-184, and miR-17-92 clusters. These microRNAs have neuroprotective properties, which aid in the good prognosis of the disease.

The Stem Cell Therapy risks are low and infrequent because of the therapy’s high safety domain.

The most expected or common risk factors of SCT can be:

• Painful injection area /site

• Lethargy and fatigue

• Allergic reactions

• Fever

Allergic reactions are preventable through pre-injection history and care. Fatigue, fever, and pain are managed through the appropriate drugs along with the treatment.

Stem Cell Therapy is a new and promising method of treating Alzheimer's Disease. It has the potential to be more effective than previous methods and also carries less risk. At present, Stem Cell Technology is still in the developmental stage, but rapid developments and advances indicate its potential uses in direct treatments of Alzheimer’s Disease.

The benefits and effects of Stem Cell Therapy depend on several factors: the patient's health condition, underlying issues, lifestyle, and others. To assess your expected results, we would like to know more about you. A medical advisor will talk to you about your diagnosis and treatment options and collect information for the attending physician; they can answer all your initial questions:

• Will the therapy work for my case? 

• What does the treatment involve? Is it painful?

• Is it expensive? How much does it cost?