Better hope as stroke drug could potentially fight Alzheimer’s Disease
Scientists from the University of South Australia and the Third Military Medical University in China discovered that a drug called edaravone could alleviate the progressive cognitive symptoms of Alzheimer’s.
Available in some Asian countries, edaravone is used to treat ischaemic stroke, the most common kind that occurs due to blood clots.
When tested on mice, the drug improved functions of learning and memory by several different mechanisms, according to lead author Prof Zhou Xin-Fu.
He says the multi-faceted approach could be key in treating Alzheimer’s because several pathways require targeting to keep symptoms at bay.
“Edaravone can bind the toxic amyloid peptide, which is a major factor leading to degeneration of nerve cells,” says Prof Zhou.
The drug is said to be a scavenger that attacks free radicals, thereby suppressing oxidative stress, similar to antioxidants.
Oxidative stress, says Prof Zhou, is the main cause of brain degeneration. It can also hinder production of amyloid beta – amino acid peptides that play a role in the progression of Alzheimer’s.
What’s more, the drug restrains the Tau hyperphosphorylation that generates disruptive tangles in the brain cells.
Human clinical trials must occur before doctors should consider prescribing edaravone to Alzheimer’s patients, he says.
The paper was published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
In August, researchers at Yale University, United States, discovered another drug that reverses cognitive deficits of Alzheimer’s in mice. It’s called TC-2153 and works by inhibiting the undesirable effects on memory of a protein called STtriatal-Enriched tyrosine Phosphatase (STEP). Their paper was published in the journal PLOS One. – AFP Relaxnews
Category: Features, Pharmaceuticals
