Rapamycin was found in the soil of Easter Island. At first it was used against fungi, and later it was noticed that it extends the lifespan of mice. Now it turns out that it also repairs the blood vessels of the brain in Alzheimer's disease.
The brain begins to starve, and small hemorrhages appear in it. Scientists gave rapamycin to mice with this disease and saw that the sticky deposits in the vessels decreased by almost half. At the same time, the deposits in the brain itself did not change: the drug acts only on the vessels.
The vessels in the mice began to widen again when needed, and the barrier between blood and brain became tighter, keeping out harmful substances. Memory also returned: the mice that received the drug remembered a dangerous place, while sick mice without treatment did not.
Rapamycin works like a traffic officer who clears jams on the brain's vascular roads. It does not bring back dead cells, but it helps preserve the routes through which oxygen is delivered to them. If this works in humans, doctors will be able to help patients in the early stage of the disease.
Rapamycin was discovered in a soil sample from Easter Island and was initially used as an antifungal agent, later becoming known as a geroprotector that extends the lifespan of mice.
Not published on arXiv. Here are its page, the PDF and the formalization: you can check it yourself, not only read our account.