Drawing closer to Alzheimers magic bullet? Drugs found to both prevent and treat Alzheimer's disease in mice
May 21, 2013 — Imagine a pharmaceutical prevention, treatment or even cure for Alzheimer's disease.
It is almost impossible to overstate how monumental a development that would be and how it would answer the prayers of millions.
Though science isn't there yet, a new study published in The Journal of Neuroscience spearheaded by USC Davis School of Gerontology researchers offers a tantalizing glimpse of potential solutions.
"Our data suggests the possibility of drugs that can prevent and treat Alzheimer's," said lead author, professor and lab principal Christian Pike of USC Davis. "It's just mouse data but extremely encouraging mouse data."
The team studied the effects of a class of drugs called TSPO ligands on male mice that were genetically engineered to develop Alzheimer's disease, known as 3xTg-AD mice. Because a key mechanism of TSPO ligands is to increase production of steroid hormones, it was important to ensure that the mice had low levels of testosterone and related hormones before treatment. Younger mice were castrated while, in older mice, the decrease occurred as a normal consequence of aging.
"We looked at the effects of TSPO ligands in young adult mice when pathology was at an early stage and in aged mice when pathology was quite severe," Pike said. "TSPO ligands reduced measures of pathology and improved behavior at both ages."
The most surprising finding for Pike and his team was the effect of TSPO ligands in the aged mice. Four treatments -- one per week over four weeks -- in aged 3xTg-AD mice resulted in significant lowering of Alzheimer's-related pathology and improvements in memory behavior. This finding suggested the possibility that TSPO ligands can reverse components of Alzheimer's and thus have the potential to be useful in treatment.
For humans, these findings may indeed be quite significant.
"TSPO ligands are currently used in humans in certain types of neuroimaging. Newer TSPO ligands are at the clinical trials stage of development for treatment of anxiety and other conditions," Pike said. "There is a strong possibility that TSPO ligands similar to the ones used in our study could be evaluated for therapeutic efficacy in Alzheimer's patients within the next few years."
In light of the findings, the team will next focus on understanding how TSPO ligands reduce Alzheimer's pathology. Building on the established knowledge that TSPO ligands can act protectively by reducing inflammation, shielding nerve cells from injury and increasing the production of neuroactive hormones in the brain, the team will study which of these actions is the most significant in fighting Alzheimer's so it can develop newer TSPO ligands accordingly.
While Pike and his team acknowledged that the findings represent an exciting possibility, the researchers also stressed that it is by no means a given.
"From the optimistic perspective, our data provide very promising findings with tangible potential benefits for both the prevention and treatment of Alzheimer's," Pike said. "On the pessimistic side, research scientists have developed many interventions that cured Alzheimer's in mice but have failed to show significant benefits in humans. A critical direction we are currently pursuing is successfully translating these findings into humans."
Co-authors of the study were Anna Barron (former USC Davis postdoctoral student and Molecular Imaging Center, National Institute of Radiological Sciences, Japan); Luis Garcia Segura (Instituto Cajal, Spain); Donatella Caruso and Roberto Melcangi (Department of Pharmacological and Biomolecular Sciences, Centre of Excellence on Neurodegenerative Diseases, University of Milan); and Anusha Jayaraman and Joo Lee (USC Davis).
The research was funded by the National Institutes of Health in support of the USC Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, directed by Helena Chui, professor of neurology and gerontology at USC.
Welcome to SUV System Ltd!
SUV System Ltd is ISO 90012008 Certified electronics distributor with 10 years of experiences.
We have built up long term business relationship with about many companies which are stockers and authorized agents. we have a steady and reliable supply to meet customer's demands to the greatest extent .Confidently, we are able to lower your cost and support your business with our years of professional service.
SUV System Ltd is Electronic Components Distributor Supplies,Find Quality Electronic Components Supplies Products IC(Integrated Circuits),Connectors,Capacitor,Resistors,Diodes,Transistors,LED at Suvsystem.com. Sourcing Other Energy, Environment, Excess Inventory Products from Manufacturers and Suppliers at Suvsystem.com
Electronic Components distributor:http://www.suvsystem.com
Connectors Distributor:http://www.suvsystem.com/l/Connectors-1.html
IC Distributor:http://www.suvsystem.com/l/IC(Integrated-Circuits)-1.html
LED Distributor:http://www.suvsystem.com/l/LED-1.html
Capacitor Distributor:http://www.suvsystem.com/l/Capacitor-1.html
Transistor Distributor:http://www.suvsystem.com/l/Transistors-1.html
Resistor Distributor:http://www.suvsystem.com/l/Resistors-1.html
Diode Distributor:http://www.suvsystem.com/l/Diodes-1.html
SUV System Ltd insists on the managing faith ofsincereness,speciality,foresight, win-win,so we build up stable-relationship customers located all over the world, including the States, Europe, Argentina, UAE, Malaysia, Australia,and India etc
we are focus on the following fields,and hope we can help you.
CS3102A-20-70S CS3102A-20-58P CS3102A-18-56P CS3102A-18-1P(116) CS3102A-18-1P(004) CS3102A-14S-67S CS3102A-14S-65S CS3102A-14S-54S CS3102A-10SL-64P CS3102A-10SL-55P CS3101A-24-62S CS3101A-24-57P CS3101A-20-82P CS3101A-20-74S CS3101A-20-74P CS3100A-20-17S CS3102C-22-57S CS3102A-40-ADS CS3102A-40-82S CS3102A-40-82P CS3102A-40-35P CS3102A-36-85S CS3102A-36-75S CS3102A-36-58S CS3102A-32-82P CS3102A-32-76SY CS3102A-32-76S CS3102A-32-59P CS3102A-32-52S CS3102A-32-25SW CS3102A-32-25S CS3102A-28-AYP CS3102A-28-84SX CS3102A-28-84S CS3102A-28-84P CS3102A-28-82S CS3102A-28-79S CS3102A-28-79P CS3102A-28-68S CS3102A-28-66S
http://www.suvsystem.com/a/1274.aspx
