A Promising Trial Targets a Genetic Risk for Alzheimer’s
By Gina Kolata,
The New York Times
| 12. 05. 2022
In a bold attempt to stop the progress of some cases of Alzheimer’s disease, a group of researchers is trying something new — injecting a protective gene into patients’ brains.
The trial involved just five patients with a particular genetic risk for Alzheimer’s. They received a very low dose of the gene therapy — a test of safety, which the treatment passed. But the preliminary results, announced Friday during the Clinical Trials on Alzheimer’s Disease conference, showed that proteins from the added gene appeared in the patients’ spinal fluid, and levels in the brain of two markers of Alzheimer’s disease, tau and amyloid, fell. Those findings were promising enough to advance the clinical trial into its next phase.
Treatment of another five patients at a higher dose is underway, and the work, initially funded by the nonprofit Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation, is supported by Lexeo Therapeutics, a fledgling company founded by Dr. Ronald Crystal, who is also chairman of the department of genetic medicine at Weill Cornell Medicine in New York. The hope is to get a stronger response...
Related Articles
Following a long-standing CGS tradition, we present a selection of our favorite Biopolitical Times posts of the past year.
In 2025, we published up to four posts every month, written by 12 authors (staff, consultants and allies), some in collaboration and one simply credited to CGS.
These titles are presented in chronological order, except for three In Memoriam notices, which follow. Many more posts that are worth your time can be found in the archive. Scroll down and “VIEW...
By Jonathan Matthews, GMWatch | 12.11.2025
In our first article in this series, we investigated the dark PR tactics that have accompanied Colossal Bioscience’s de-extinction disinformation campaign, in which transgenic cloned grey wolves have been showcased to the world as resurrected dire wolves – a...
By Jenny Lange, BioNews | 12.01.2025
A UK toddler with a rare genetic condition was the first person to receive a new gene therapy that appears to halt disease progression.
Oliver, now three years old, has Hunter syndrome, an inherited genetic disorder that leads to physical...
By Simar Bajaj, The New York Times | 11.27.2025
A common cold was enough to kill Cora Oakley.
Born in Morristown, N.J., with virtually no immune system, Cora was diagnosed with severe combined immunodeficiency, a rare genetic condition that leaves the body without key white blood cells.
It’s better...
