Talk about a llama-zing discovery.
They’re known for their fluffy furs and sassy stares, but scientists have discovered that llamas may also be the key to treating schizophrenia.
And this isn’t even the first time this year that llamas have been at the heart of curing a scary health issue.
In a mind-blowing new study, French researchers have developed a molecule from llama antibodies that could one day help patients with schizophrenia overcome cognitive deficits — a major hurdle that existing treatments fail to address.
Scientists at the Institute of Functional Genomics in Montpellier have engineered what’s called a nanobody — a tiny antibody fragment found in camelids like llamas — that can activate a specific glutamate receptor responsible for brain signaling.
What’s more, this molecule can cross the blood-brain barrier — a major challenge in drug development — and go straight to work on neural receptors when injected via a vein or muscle.
Researchers tested the llama-derived nanobody in two preclinical models of schizophrenia.
Just one injection was enough to boost brainpower in mice, showing a clear and sustained improvement in cognitive function for up to a week.
More research will be needed to see if this presents a promising new avenue of treatment for schizophrenia and, if so, whether or not this can be expanded to treat other psychiatric and neurodegenerative diseases.
The findings were published Wednesday in the journal Nature.
Schizophrenia is a chronic mental disorder that affects how people perceive reality, leading to hallucinations, delusions, disorganized thinking and speech, paranoia and time gaps.
More than 200,000 people in the US are living with schizophrenia, for which there is no cure.
The cause of schizophrenia is still unknown, but research suggests a combination of genetic and environmental factors are likely to encourage its onset, which typically occurs between the ages of 16 and 30.
Schizophrenia is primarily treated with antipsychotics, which target some of the more severe symptoms like hallucinations and delusions, but fail to do much for cognitive function.
This new study offers hope for repairing cognition, as opposed to simply managing symptoms.
“In humans obviously we don’t know [yet], but in mice yes, it is sufficient to treat most deficits of schizophrenia,” paper author and CNRS molecular biologist Jean-Philippe Pin told Newsweek.
“For development as a therapeutic tool, more safety and bioavailability studies are needed. Production of large quantities of high quality must be set up to start human studies. For these two possibilities, either a company takes up our project or we find investors to create a startup company.”
Meanwhile, another study published last month found that llamas may also hold the secret weapon to curing COVID — and it’s also in their nanobodies.
“This work provides a strong foundation for developing next-generation antibodies that could be vital in combating not only current but also future coronavirus threats,” said Dr. Xavier Saelens, senior author of the study and a principal investigator at the VIB-UGent Center for Medical Biotechnology in Belgium.
