Israeli Scientists Developing Immunotherapy Treatment to Slow Aging

Researcher Michal Schwartz: ‘We will soon be able to boost those immune cells that are most relevant to the brain.’

By Shula Rosen

Israel Prize-winning scientist Michal Schwartz of the Weizmann Institute reports that her team is developing an immunotherapy treatment that can slow down aging in the brain.

Schwartz has spent 27 years researching the connection between the aging immune system and the brain.

She is currently working with a global team of researchers who are developing a treatment for the immune system that can help patients reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s and other degenerative diseases that affect the brain.

“We will soon be able to boost those immune cells that are most relevant to the brain,” Schwartz told The Times of Israel.

“And the beauty is that I believe that whatever will boost the immune system to benefit the brain will benefit the entire body,” she added.

Schwartz’s studies have revolutionized theories about the relationship between the immune system and the brain.

Before she began her research in 1998, the prevailing view was that the brain operated independently from the immune system.

Although her view of the connection between the brain and the immune system was initially greeted with skepticism, “after about eight years, the scientific community started to believe in my work and say, ‘Wow, she may be right,'” Schwartz said.

“When we age, the immune system becomes either insufficient or exhausted,” Schwartz said. “The aging immune system may not be the primary cause of brain aging, but it acts as a significant catalyst.”

Schwartz is the co-founder and chief scientific officer at ImmunoBrain, which is developing an immunotherapy treatment for neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia.

The treatment will use senolytics designed to target “zombie” cells in the body that can speed up aging.

In studies, mice treated with senolytics showed improved cognitive function.

The research also focused on a protein called an epitope that stimulates the immune response in the brain.

“The ultimate goal is to prevent deterioration of the immune system,” Schwartz said. “And if this happens, we’ll be able to restore and boost it with the immune therapy treatment.”