Fecha de publicación: -- Fuente: WIPO "tomato" The present disclosure provides methods for treating a cognitive impairment due to Itch dysregulation in a patient by administering a viral vector comprising a polynucleotide sequence encoding an Itch mutant to the patient. The Itch mutant comprises a mutation selected from the group consisting of: T222A, S232A, K391R, and a combination thereof. The administration of the viral vector increases the levels of TAp73 and decreases the levels of proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) and cleaved caspase-3 in the patients. The methods of the present disclosure reduce the neurodegeneration and improve the cognitive and functional decline in AD patients.