Effects of Sirolimus on Asymptomatic ApoE4 Carriers

Summary

Alzheimer's disease is a devastating neurodegenerative disease characterized by accumulation of clumps (also called plaques) and bundles of fibers (also called tangles) in the brain, for which there is currently no cure. Sirolimus (Rapamycin) is an FDA-approved medication which may improve the blood flow to the brain. The purpose of the clinical trial is to find out whether sirolimus can help improve blood flow and energy use in the brain in women ages 45 to 65 who have the ApoE4 gene, a gene which increases the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease later in life. There will be two arms in this trail, a sirolimus arm and a placebo arm. A placebo is a pill that looks like the study drug, but it does not have any real medicine in it. Participants will be randomized to one arm or the other, but not to both arms. Three study visits over a 12-week period are required. Participants will: (i) Complete some questionnaires about how well you think; (ii) Complete genetic testing for the ApoE4 gene; (iii) Have blood work, blood pressure and height and weight collected; (iv) Take either Sirolimus or a placebo daily, by mouth, for approximately 4 weeks; (v) Keep a diary of when the sirolimus or placebo is taken; (vi) Complete 2 Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) exams

Timeline

Start

2026-12-01

Primary completion

2027-12-31

Completion

2028-07-07

Publications

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• Background Lin AL, Aware C, Neher C, Hamdi M, Ericsson A, Khegai O, Patrie J, Kurt M, Govindarajan M, Woods C, Ivanich K, Beversdorf D, Cheng J, Balchandani P, Gonzales M, Altes T. Rapamycin enhances neurovascular, peripheral metabolic, and immune function in cognitively normal, middle-aged APOE4 Carriers: genotype-dependent effects compared to non-carriers. Res Sq [Preprint]. 2025 Mar 19:rs.3.rs-6214340. doi: 10.21203/rs.3.rs-6214340/v1.
• Background Ozcelik S, Fraser G, Castets P, Schaeffer V, Skachokova Z, Breu K, Clavaguera F, Sinnreich M, Kappos L, Goedert M, Tolnay M, Winkler DT. Rapamycin attenuates the progression of tau pathology in P301S tau transgenic mice. PLoS One. 2013 May 7;8(5):e62459. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0062459. Print 2013.
• Background Mannick JB, Del Giudice G, Lattanzi M, Valiante NM, Praestgaard J, Huang B, Lonetto MA, Maecker HT, Kovarik J, Carson S, Glass DJ, Klickstein LB. mTOR inhibition improves immune function in the elderly. Sci Transl Med. 2014 Dec 24;6(268):268ra179. doi: 10.1126/scitranslmed.3009892.
• Background Lelegren M, Liu Y, Ross C, Tardif S, Salmon AB. Pharmaceutical inhibition of mTOR in the common marmoset: effect of rapamycin on regulators of proteostasis in a non-human primate. Pathobiol Aging Age Relat Dis. 2016 Jun 23;6:31793. doi: 10.3402/pba.v6.31793. eCollection 2016.
• Background Sills AM, Artavia JM, DeRosa BD, Ross CN, Salmon AB. Long-term treatment with the mTOR inhibitor rapamycin has minor effect on clinical laboratory markers in middle-aged marmosets. Am J Primatol. 2019 Feb;81(2):e22927. doi: 10.1002/ajp.22927. Epub 2018 Oct 12.
• Background Tardif S, Ross C, Bergman P, Fernandez E, Javors M, Salmon A, Spross J, Strong R, Richardson A. Testing efficacy of administration of the antiaging drug rapamycin in a nonhuman primate, the common marmoset. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 2015 May;70(5):577-87. doi: 10.1093/gerona/glu101. Epub 2014 Jul 19.
• Background Ross C, Salmon A, Strong R, Fernandez E, Javors M, Richardson A, Tardif S. Metabolic consequences of long-term rapamycin exposure on common marmoset monkeys (Callithrix jacchus). Aging (Albany NY). 2015 Nov;7(11):964-73. doi: 10.18632/aging.100843.
• Background Spilman P, Podlutskaya N, Hart MJ, Debnath J, Gorostiza O, Bredesen D, Richardson A, Strong R, Galvan V. Inhibition of mTOR by rapamycin abolishes cognitive deficits and reduces amyloid-beta levels in a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease. PLoS One. 2010 Apr 1;5(4):e9979. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0009979.
• Background Lin AL, Parikh I, Yanckello LM, White RS, Hartz AMS, Taylor CE, McCulloch SD, Thalman SW, Xia M, McCarty K, Ubele M, Head E, Hyder F, Sanganahalli BG. APOE genotype-dependent pharmacogenetic responses to rapamycin for preventing Alzheimer's disease. Neurobiol Dis. 2020 Jun;139:104834. doi: 10.1016/j.nbd.2020.104834. Epub 2020 Mar 12.

Drugs

Indications

No indication recorded.