Hydrogen sulfide might help slow Alzheimer's, says new study
Scientists at Johns Hopkins found that hydrogen sulfide (yes, the stuff with the rotten egg smell) could help protect brain cells and reverse some effects of Alzheimer's in mouse models by blocking a process that damages brain cells.
Their research, just published in a major science journal, offers some hope for future treatments.
Mice got smarter and more active
When researchers gave mice with Alzheimer's symptoms a compound that releases hydrogen sulfide over 12 weeks, those mice did 50% better on memory and movement tests than untreated ones.
Basically, they remembered things better and moved around more.
How does it work?
Turns out people with Alzheimer's have much lower levels of hydrogen sulfide and sulfhydration in the brain.
This leads to less "sulfhydration"—a process that helps protect brain proteins.
Without enough H2S, harmful tangles form in brain cells.
Boosting H2S levels seemed to stop this damage and improve memory in the study.
Why should you care?
While it's early days and this was just in mice, it points to new ways scientists might fight Alzheimer's down the line—potentially making a real difference for millions of families dealing with memory loss.