Russian researchers have developed an experimental Alzheimer’s treatment that takes a markedly different approach to the disease — filtering potentially harmful inflammation-related material from patients’ blood. A small pilot study reportedly produced improvements in memory, attention and everyday functioning, although researchers stress that larger clinical trials are required before the treatment’s safety and effectiveness can be established.
INR Report: Based on reporting by RT HERE.
Targeting Inflammation Rather Than Just Amyloid
The experimental treatment was developed by clinicians at Sechenov University in Moscow and is designed to target chronic inflammation believed to contribute to brain-cell damage in Alzheimer’s disease.
Many existing Alzheimer's therapies either attempt to manage symptoms or target beta-amyloid, a protein that accumulates in the brains of Alzheimer's patients.
The Russian researchers instead focused on substances circulating in the blood that may contribute to systemic inflammation.
One particular target is neutrophil extracellular traps, or NETs.
NETs are web-like structures containing DNA and enzymes released by immune cells as part of the body's defence system.
Researchers believe excessive accumulation of these structures with age may contribute to chronic inflammation, increase blood-vessel permeability, encourage beta-amyloid accumulation and potentially damage brain cells.
Filtering the Patient's Blood
The Sechenov team developed a technique that essentially filters potentially harmful DNA-containing material from the bloodstream.
A patient's plasma is passed through a specialised filter designed to remove targeted particles while preserving healthy proteins, minerals and other useful substances.
The filtered plasma is then returned to the patient.
Natalia Sivtsevich, head of the university hospital's transfusiology department, said the researchers hypothesised that reducing these structures in the bloodstream could decrease inflammation and potentially slow processes associated with Alzheimer's disease.
Pilot Study Reports Cognitive Improvements
The approach was tested in a pilot study involving patients diagnosed with Alzheimer's.
Participants underwent three blood-filtering procedures, spaced two to three days apart.
During each procedure, researchers processed the equivalent of approximately twice the patient's total circulating plasma volume.
Patients were assessed before and after treatment using cognitive and memory testing, brain MRI scans and biomarkers obtained from spinal fluid.
Three months after treatment, the researchers reported improvements in verbal memory, attention and information-processing speed.
Family members assessing patients' progress also reported improvements in their ability to carry out everyday activities.
Promising — But Still Preliminary
The findings should be treated cautiously.
The researchers themselves emphasise that this was a pilot study and that larger clinical trials will be required to establish whether the treatment is genuinely safe and effective.
The RT report does not provide the number of patients participating in the pilot, a randomised control group, detailed statistical results or evidence of peer-reviewed publication.
Those details would be necessary before strong conclusions could be drawn about the treatment's effectiveness.
Improvements observed three months after treatment are encouraging, but they do not yet establish that blood filtration slows Alzheimer's progression or produces lasting clinical benefits.
A Different Approach to Alzheimer’s
If subsequent trials validate the results, the significance could lie in targeting a different biological mechanism.
Vladimir Parfenov, director of Sechenov University's Kozhevnikov Clinic of Nervous Diseases, said existing treatments can support memory, reduce damaging overstimulation of brain cells or target beta-amyloid accumulation.
Their effectiveness remains limited, however, and some treatments can produce significant side effects.
The Sechenov researchers believe their blood-filtering strategy could eventually complement rather than replace existing Alzheimer's treatments.
This reflects a broader scientific understanding that Alzheimer's is a complex disease and may ultimately require therapies targeting multiple biological pathways.
A Growing Global Health Challenge
Approximately 57 million people worldwide live with dementia, according to figures cited in the report, with Alzheimer's disease accounting for an estimated 35–40 million cases.
Dementia is among the world's leading causes of death, with nearly 10 million new cases occurring annually.
Age remains the strongest risk factor, with the likelihood of developing dementia increasing substantially after 65.
There is currently no cure for Alzheimer's disease.
That makes new approaches worth investigating — but the distinction between an encouraging early-stage experiment and a clinically proven treatment is particularly important.
Does This Affect New Zealand?
Potentially, although this treatment remains at a very early stage.
Like other developed countries with an ageing population, New Zealand faces a growing burden from dementia and Alzheimer's disease, affecting patients, families, caregivers and the health system.
If larger independent clinical trials confirm that removing inflammation-associated particles from the bloodstream can meaningfully slow cognitive decline, the approach could eventually become relevant internationally.
For now, however, it should be regarded as experimental research rather than an available Alzheimer's treatment.
The next important questions are whether the findings are published in full, how many patients participated, whether controlled trials reproduce the reported improvements, how long any benefits persist and whether repeated blood-filtering procedures can be performed safely.
Those results will determine whether this Russian research represents an interesting biological hypothesis — or the beginning of a genuinely new treatment strategy.
Independent reporting. Original context. Credited sources.
Source
RT — Russian doctors pioneer new Alzheimer’s treatment strategy — Published 19 August 2026; updated 19 August 2026
https://www.rt.com/russia/644402-alzheimer-new-treatment-russia/