|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
New findings further scientists’ understanding of what is happening in the immune systems of patients with Alzheimer’s disease.
By: Emma Suttie
A recently published study sheds new light on an important component of the immune system in patients with Alzheimer’s. The study was published in The Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, and the authors say that, to their knowledge, it is the very first to describe these elements in Alzheimer’s patients.
The component is called the Th1/Th2 ratio.
The study authors made several key observations.
First, they found that patients with moderate-to-severe Alzheimer’s disease had very high Th1/Th2 ratios (Th1 dominant), which had never been observed in this patient population before.
Second, the Alzheimer’s patients’ Th1/Th2 ratios were compared to healthy adults and found to be (statistically) significantly higher for all six values that the study authors measured.
The Alzheimer’s group was given a dietary supplement consisting of a natural aloe polymannose multinutrient complex (APMC) for twelve months which resulted in “an overall rebalancing of the Th1/Th2 ratio.”
Finally, this rebalancing was associated with improvements in cognition at the end of the study.
What Is the Th1/Th2 Ratio?
The “Th” in Th1 and Th2 stands for T Helper cells—a type of immune cell vital to a healthy immune system. Th1 and Th2 cells are expressed via different immune pathways—each producing a distinct immune response.
Th1 is the pathway affecting innate immunity—the body’s first line of defense. Th2 affects adaptive immunity, which creates antibodies specific to the virus, bacteria, or toxins it encounters—strengthening over time.
The Th1 pathway tends to produce pro-inflammatory responses, essential defenses needed for fighting intracellular pathogens like viruses and bacteria. These responses can, however, be harmful if they remain active after the threat has passed and can lead to various diseases and autoimmune conditions. The Th2 pathway tends to inhibit inflammation and exert a protective effect. It stimulates the production of antibodies to combat extracellular threats like bacteria, allergens, parasites, and toxins.
A balance in these two pathways (Th1 and Th2) is thought to be essential for a healthy immune system.
Th1 and Th2 also produce cytokines—protein messengers that help control inflammation throughout the body. Whether the Th1 or Th2 pathway is activated depends on which cytokines are present.
According to the study, “Th1/Th2 cytokines serve as useful benchmarks for patient evaluation. The production of Th1 and Th2 cytokines significantly determines T cell-mediated immune reactions, and maintaining their balance is associated with prevention of infectious and allergic diseases, immune-related disorders, and the development of cancers.” (Lewis, 2024, p. 1724).
Th1/Th2 Imbalance in Other Conditions
An imbalance in the Th1/Th2 ratio has been observed in other conditions, particularly those that exhibit a high level of inflammation, such as multiple sclerosis and cancer.
In a study published in BMC Neurology of relapse-remitting multiple sclerosis, the Th1/Th2 ratio was found to be Th1 dominant or highly inflammatory. In the study, the authors were able to shift the patients toward Th2 (the anti-inflammatory pathway) using glatiramer acetate (GA), a medication that modulates the immune system.
In another study published in Frontiers in Pharmacology, researchers used Radix Bupleuri—the dried root of an herb commonly used in traditional Chinese medicine with known anti-tumor activities—and found it inhibited breast cancer in breast cancer-induced rats. The authors attribute this effect in part to shifting the Th1/Th2 ratio toward a Th2, or anti-inflammatory pathway.
The authors found that the Alzheimer’s patients in their study had an imbalance in their Th1/Th2 ratios, with much higher levels of Th1—the pathway associated with inflammation—especially compared to the healthy adults.
This new information about the Th1/Th2 ratios in Alzheimer’s patients may provide a piece of the puzzle and further our understanding when it comes to this complex disease that now affects 6.9 million Americans and costs the U.S. health care system $345 billion a year. These costs do not include the approximately 11 million family members and friends who are unpaid caregivers—whose contributions are estimated to be worth an additional $350 billion, according to the Alzheimer’s Association.
Supplement Effects on Th1/Th2 Ratios and Cognition
The study analyzed two different groups—one consisted of Alzheimer’s patients, and the second was a group of healthy adults.
The first group was made up of thirty-four patients who were, on average, just under 80 years of age. Each had been diagnosed with moderate-to-severe Alzheimer’s for at least one year, but had the disease for an average of three years, and most had varying comorbidities.
The second group consisted of twenty healthy adults who participated in another study. These participants had a similar assessment of their immune system function to that of the Alzheimer’s patients. They were not obese, had no known heart, liver, or kidney disease, Type 2 diabetes, active infections, cancer, or mental illness.
The Alzheimer’s study participants were given the APMC dietary supplement—composed of polysaccharides, antioxidants, omega-3 fatty acids, and other phytonutrients. Each participant took 2.5 grams, or one teaspoon, four times daily for twelve months.
The addition of the dietary supplement represented the only change to the Alzheimer’s patient’s lives throughout the study, and patients continued with any prescription medications, diet, as well as social and physical activities.
The study authors note that they observed “remarkably high” ratios in all six Th1/Th2 values in the Alzheimer’s patients compared to the healthy adults in the study, suggesting that their sample of Alzheimer’s patients had an immune system profile that was Th1 dominant.
John E. Lewis, the study’s lead author, received his doctoral degree in educational and psychological studies from the University of Miami and has spent much of his career researching the effects of nutrition on many aspects of human health—particularly the brain and immune system. He explains to The Epoch Times that the Th1/Th2 paradigm suggests that a balance between the two ratios is required for a healthy, balanced immune system. This theory was first suggested back in the mid-1980s as a way to help understand problems associated with HIV and has ultimately been described in other diseases and disorders.
“While the Th1/Th2 paradigm has been criticized for overly simplifying immune function, these ratios still provide useful information. This information gives us a way of comparing the pro- and anti-inflammatory components of the immune system, and it helps us to better understand the clinical profile of disease,” he said.
When the Alzheimer’s patients took the APMC supplement, five of the six Th1/Th2 ratios rebalanced—towards the Th2 or anti-inflammatory profile. These positive changes were also associated with improvements in cognition using multiple assessments throughout the 12-month study period.
Mr. Lewis explained the significance of this rebalancing in the Alzheimer’s group:
“We not only characterized for the first time the Th1/Th2 ratios in Alzheimer’s disease patients, but we also showed that the APMC dietary supplement was effective in lowering five of the six ratios toward more balanced values. Their Th1 dominant values provide additional information about the role of inflammation in this tragic disease. The APMC dietary supplement demonstrates efficacy in shifting these ratios plus results in a correlation between rebalanced Th1/Th2 ratios and improved cognitive function.”
Dr. Judi Woolger, an internal medicine physician and chief medical officer at the Agatston Center for Preventive Medicine in Miami Beach Florida, is a co-author of the study. She explains the significance of the findings for Alzheimer’s patients, telling The Epoch Times:
“Our study demonstrates that once again the crosstalk between major organ systems, in this case, the link between improved cognitive function and rebalanced immune system function, is crucial to better understanding the clinical context of a disease that currently has a lot of ambiguity associated with its cause and treatment. By utilizing the APMC dietary supplement, we have showed that we can help to improve the lives of people who desperately need help.”
