In the ongoing search for a cure for Alzheimer’s disease, a burgeoning branch of medicine is bringing new hope. Stem cell therapies are already being used to treat various cancers and disorders of the blood and immune system. In a new proof-of-concept study, scientists at the University of California San Diego show stem cell transplants may also be a promising therapeutic against Alzheimer’s. In the study, published August 8, 2023 in Cell Reports, the researchers demonstrate that transplanting hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells was effective in rescuing multiple signs and symptoms of Alzheimer’s in a mouse model of the disease. Mice that received healthy hematopoietic stem cells showed preserved memory and cognition, reduced neuroinflammation and significantly less β-amyloid build-up compared to other Alzheimer’s mice. The open-access article is titled “Rescue of Alzheimer’s Disease Phenotype in a Mouse Model by Transplantation of Wild-Type Hematopoietic Stem and Progenitor Cells.” “Alzheimer’s is a very complex disease, so any potential treatment has to be able to target multiple biological pathways,” said senior study author Stephanie Cherqui, PhD, Professor at UC San Diego School of Medicine. “Our work shows that hematopoietic stem and progenitor cell transplantation has the potential to prevent complications from Alzheimer’s and could be a promising therapeutic avenue for this disease.”