Press Release / Health and Fitness / GM-CSF: Why this Immune Factor may be the key to Treating Neurological Disease

GM-CSF: Why this Immune Factor may be the key to Treating Neurological Disease

GM-CSF is a cytokine commonly used in immunology research to differentiate and culture dendritic cells. Recently, it has gained much attention as a potential new therapy for Alzheimer’s disease (AD). This was prompted by clinical data reporting that Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) patients have a negative risk for acquiring Alzheimer’s disease, while exhibiting increased levels of GM-CSF as part of their RA pathology.

In laboratory studies, Alzheimer transgenic mice treated with GM-CSF demonstrated significant improvement in cognitive performance compared to control treated mice. At the cellular level, GM-CSF decreased brain amyloidosis and augmented synaptic area and microglial density. Similar neurological benefits have been observed in mice treated with Macrophage Colony-Stimulating Factor (M-CSF) and Granulocyte Colony-Stimulating Factor (G-CSF).

A recent retrospective study demonstrated that memory and concentration problems associated with chemotherapy (known as ’chemo brain’) significantly improved more in patients receiving a combination of GM-CSF/G-CSF compared to G-CSF alone as part of their cancer therapy. Together, these results with support from laboratory mouse models has initiated a preliminary clinical study to investigate the effects of GM-CSF (Leukine) compared to a placebo in a small cohort of Alzheimer’s patients. If shown to be positive, this study would enable a large clinical investigation on the potential of GM-CSF as an effective new therapy for Alzheimer’s disease.