Two clinical trials of gold nanocrystals at University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center resulted in “significantly reversed deficits of metabolites linked to energy activity in the brain and resulted in functional improvements” in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) and Parkinson’s disease, the medical center said in a Feb. 13 news announcement.

While these trials focused on MS and Parkinson’s, the study’s authors added that the findings “could eventually help bring this treatment to patients with these and other neurodegenerative diseases.”

The results were published in the Journal of Nanobiotechnology.

Study participants took daily oral doses of CNM-Au8, described as “a suspension of faceted, clean-surfaces gold nanocrystals that catalytically improves energetic metabolism in CNS [central nervous systems] cells, supporting neuroprotection and remyelination as demonstrated in multiple independent pre-clinical models.”

Peter Sguigna, M.D., the UT Southwestern Assistant Professor of Neurology who led the MS trial, said in the announcement, “We are cautiously optimistic that we will be able to prevent or even reverse some neurological disabilities with this strategy.”

While aging causes a natural decline in brain energy metabolism, the UT announcement noted that neurodegenerative conditions including MS, Parkinson’s, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) cause a much faster and more severe decline.

Sguigna noted that “halting or reversing this energy deficit could lead to a slower decline or even partial recovery for patients with neurodegenerative diseases.”

The gold nanocrystals used in the trials were developed by Clene Nanomedicine, headquartered in Salt Lake City.