The Study
Allogeneic mesenchymal stem cell therapy with laromestrocel in mild Alzheimer’s disease: a randomized controlled phase 2a trial
This study tried a new treatment on a small group of people with early Alzheimer’s and compared them to others who got a fake treatment. It found that the real treatment might help a little with memory and brain shrinkage, but because so few people were in the study, we can’t be sure it’s really working — it might just be luck.
Analysis score
Maximum 90 for a randomized controlled trial.
Where the score came from
Scientists tested a special stem cell treatment called laromestrocel in people with early Alzheimer’s to see if it could stop their brains from shrinking and help them think better.
Where does this study sit?
Reviews of RCTs (Meta-analyses)
Max 100Randomized Trials
Max 90Reviews of Cohort Studies
Max 85Cohort Studies
Max 72Reviews of Case-Control Studies
Max 63Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional & Case Series
Max 50Expert Opinion
Max 581 / 100
Quality score
Participants are randomly assigned to treatment or control groups, minimizing bias. The gold standard for testing whether an intervention causes an effect.
Key takeaways
Summary
Based on the study abstract and findings.
- 1These changes suggest the treatment may help preserve brain structure and thinking ability — important because brain shrinkage is linked to memory loss in Alzheimer’s.
- 2After 9 months, treated patients had 48% less brain shrinkage and 62% less hippocampus shrinkage than placebo.
- 3Their memory scores (MoCA) improved by 2.1 points, and a key blood marker of blood vessel damage (sTIE2) dropped.
Score breakdown, methodology, conflicts of interest, evidence analysis & raw study data
Publication
Journal
Nature Medicine
Year
2025
Authors
Brian G. Rash, Kevin N. Ramdas, N. Agafonova, Eric Naioti, L. Mcclain-Moss, Zarin Zainul, Brittany Varnado, Kevin A. Peterson, Michael D. Brown, T. Leal, Steven Kopcho, Raul Carballosa, Paayal Patel, M. Brody, Brad Herskowitz, Ana Fuquay, Savannah Rodriguez, A. Jacobson, Ramon Leon, M. Pfeffer, Julie B Schwartzbard, Jeffrey Botbyl, A. Oliva, Joshua M. Hare
Related Content
Claims (6)
Laromestrocel stem cell therapy reduces biological signs of aging in adults aged 60 and older.
In patients with mild Alzheimer’s disease, laromestrocel treatment is associated with a 61.9% reduction in left hippocampal atrophy over 39 weeks compared to placebo, and greater preservation of hippocampal volume is correlated with more stable cognitive performance on the MMSE-2 test.
In people with mild Alzheimer’s disease, monthly intravenous infusions of laromestrocel for four months are associated with a 48.4% reduction in the rate of brain shrinkage over 39 weeks compared to no treatment, as measured by MRI scans.
In patients with mild Alzheimer’s disease, intravenous laromestrocel treatment resulted in a 2.1-point higher Montreal Cognitive Assessment score at 39 weeks compared to placebo, with statistical significance.
In people with mild Alzheimer’s disease, laromestrocel treatment is linked to lower levels of soluble TIE2 in the blood at weeks 4, 8, and 16 compared to those receiving a placebo.
In people with mild Alzheimer’s disease, a single intravenous treatment called laromestrocel did not cause serious side effects, infusion reactions, or brain imaging changes related to amyloid over 39 weeks, even in those with the ApoE4 gene variant.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions.