ICBII Update on the Road to the Cure - August 2022

A Real-Time Science Report
Ram S. Bhatt, PhD., Chief Science Officer

Last month, we discussed whether stem-cell therapy can produce dopamine producing neurons in the brain of Parkinson’s patients but to the best of our knowledge, despite great hypes both by the stem-cell scientists and media, this technology is not yet there, where it can be therapeutically used for curing Parkinson’s. Therefore, Parkinson’s patients should use caution before spending hundreds of thousands of dollars for stem-cell transplant. At a minimum, patients should consult unbiased neurologists and /or US FDA before committing to this invasive procedure. Good and safe regimen of aerobic exercises may be a lot more beneficial than most drug and stem-cell therapy to slow the disease progression until a miracle drug is available to halt and reverse Parkinson’s.

To cure diseases of the central nervous system (CNS), such as Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, and many other diseases, according to ICB International, Inc, (ICBII), the key fundamental requirements are:

1. The drug must be able to cross the blood-brain barrier (BBB) and reach the disease target;
2. The real cause behind neurodegeneration must be known.

Unless and until these two requirements are met, there is no way there will be a cure for brain disorders no matter how much money and time big pharma and the entire global scientific community either has already dedicated or will do so in the future. Let us take the example of drugs for Alzheimer’s disease. Numerous clinical trials conducted by big pharmaceutical companies, namely, Pfizer, Eli Lilly, Genentech, Merck, Biogen, and many more, have failed, wasting probably close to 100 billion dollars so far. These trials failed because the above two requirements were probably not considered before marching on the drug development journey.

Axonal Myelin Degeneration

I, Ram Bhatt, ICBII, realize that I am writing an article about the failure of the scientific community to cure Parkinson’s disease. However, it is important to share a very important observation made by the inventor, Alois Alzheimer, who discovered Alzheimer’s disease in 1906. Though the classical neuropathological changes in Alzheimer’s disease (AD), e.g. amyloid-plaque and the presence of neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs) in the brain were observed, Alois Alzheimer also reported as early as in 1911 that degeneration and myelin impairment took place long before the appearance of amyloid plaque in the brain of AD patients [Behrendt, et al, Dynamic changes in myelin aberrations and oligodendrocyte degeneration in amyloidosis in mice and men, Glia, 61, 273 (2013)]; [Dean DC, et al,  Association of amyloid pathology with myelin alteration in pre-clinical Alzheimer’s disease, JAMA Neurol, 74, 41 (2017)]. 

Strangely, the scientific community only centered their efforts of the brain plaque during the last three to four decades ignoring the most important observation, that myelin degeneration leads to neuronal death. It is not clear why the phenomenon of myelin impairment has been forgotten/neglected by the global scientific community for over 100 years, even though Alois Alzheimer established a link of myelin disruption in AD patients in 1911 [Alzheimer A, Frost H, Levy R., On certain peculiar diseases of old age, Hist Psychiatry, 2, 71, 2004; Moller HJ, Graeber MB, the case described by Alois Alzheimer in 1911, historical and conceptual perspective based on the clinical record and neuro-histological sections, Eur Arch Psychiatry Clin Neurosci, 248, 111 (2011)].

The bottom line is that in most neurodegenerative diseases, including Parkinson’s, myelin degeneration leading to axonal and neuronal death must be taking place long before the alpha-synuclein starts clumping in the brain, just like Alois Alzheimer’s observed in the case of Alzheimer’s patients. It is for this reason that several clinical trials focused on clearing alpha-synuclein have failed so far.

Next month, we will explain what ICBII is doing to rejuvenate remyelination and potentially neuron regeneration.

ADDITIONALLY, WOULD YOU LIKE TO HELP get ICBII’s drugs to market faster? The joy of being a part of these historical events can be had by helping ICBII find the funds to bring these trials to fruition through your investing, and by finding others with the financial ability and humanitarian mindset to accomplish the, until now, impossible. Please contact ICBII directly through their website ICBII.com or by phone 858-455-9880, or contact Jo Rosen at PRO for a personal introduction to the scientists.

IMAGINE the world without Parkinson’s, MSA, or Alzheimer’s disease.

JUST IMAGINE.