In an interview with www.pharmexperts.com Zaven Khachaturian, PhD, former Director of the Office for Alzheimer's Disease Research at NIH and currently President of Lou Ruvo Brain Institute, emphasized the need for the preventive approach to the therapy of Alzheimer's disease (AD). In the following video Dr. Khachaturian reviews the current status of research on Alzheimer's disease and the need to find new approaches to the prevention of this disease. This videointerview is also available on http://scivee.com/ .
Friday, February 13, 2009
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Alzheimer's disease: prevention and therapeutic approaches
New Approaches to the therapy of Alzheimer's disease (AD) are discussed in video interviews with scientists (here and on http://www.scivee.com)./ According to Z. Khachaturian (Potomac, MD) substantial progress has been made during the last 10 years in our understanding of the pathogenesis of the disease as well as in the discovery of biomarkers and of new therapeutic approaches. In addition to cholinergic drugs, inhibitors of plaque formation have been discovered. They are expected to not only slow progression of the disease but to stop or even reverse it. Multiple new approaches are, however still needed, particularly for the prevention of AD.
Diana Woodruff-Pak (Temple University, Philadelphia, PA) used cholesterol-fed rabbits as a model of AD for evaluation of currently available and potential anti-Alzheimer drugs. These animals developed typical Alzheimer's pathology, including behavioral changes and deposition of beta-amyloid and even tau. Galantamine and donepezil partially protected animals from Alzheimer's symptomatology.
J. Buccafusco (Medical College of Georgia, Augusta, GA) has been developing new anti-Alzheimer drugs designed to act by multiple mechanisms to improve cognition. Desensitization of nicotinic receptors is one of the novel approaches proposed by Buccafusco. Three of his compounds are currently in advanced preclinical evaluation.
R.A. Flavell (Yale University, New Haven, CY) discussed the role of Transforming Growth Factor beta (TGFbeta) in the disease. In the brain of a murine model of AD (Alzheimer mice) this cytokine appears to prevent macrophages from attacking beta amyloid. Flavell visualizes that selective blockade of this TGFbeta activity could lead to the destruction of plaques in patients with AD.
R. Quirion (McGill University, Montreal, Canada) describes anti-Alzheimer effects of polyphenols (resveratrol, catechin). Antioxidant properties are only partially responsible for their effectiveness. Quirion suggests the existence of a membrane protein that binds polyphenols.
According to D. Piomelli (University of California, Irvine) an endogenous cannabinoid, anandamide, has cognition activating properties. Inhibition of anandamide uptake or of its metabolism represents, therefore, a new approach to the therapy od AD.
Keywords: Alzheimer's disease; AD; disease prevention; plaques; beta amyloid; brain; TGFbeta; cytokines; anandamide; resveratrol; antioxidants;
Diana Woodruff-Pak (Temple University, Philadelphia, PA) used cholesterol-fed rabbits as a model of AD for evaluation of currently available and potential anti-Alzheimer drugs. These animals developed typical Alzheimer's pathology, including behavioral changes and deposition of beta-amyloid and even tau. Galantamine and donepezil partially protected animals from Alzheimer's symptomatology.
J. Buccafusco (Medical College of Georgia, Augusta, GA) has been developing new anti-Alzheimer drugs designed to act by multiple mechanisms to improve cognition. Desensitization of nicotinic receptors is one of the novel approaches proposed by Buccafusco. Three of his compounds are currently in advanced preclinical evaluation.
R.A. Flavell (Yale University, New Haven, CY) discussed the role of Transforming Growth Factor beta (TGFbeta) in the disease. In the brain of a murine model of AD (Alzheimer mice) this cytokine appears to prevent macrophages from attacking beta amyloid. Flavell visualizes that selective blockade of this TGFbeta activity could lead to the destruction of plaques in patients with AD.
R. Quirion (McGill University, Montreal, Canada) describes anti-Alzheimer effects of polyphenols (resveratrol, catechin). Antioxidant properties are only partially responsible for their effectiveness. Quirion suggests the existence of a membrane protein that binds polyphenols.
According to D. Piomelli (University of California, Irvine) an endogenous cannabinoid, anandamide, has cognition activating properties. Inhibition of anandamide uptake or of its metabolism represents, therefore, a new approach to the therapy od AD.
Keywords: Alzheimer's disease; AD; disease prevention; plaques; beta amyloid; brain; TGFbeta; cytokines; anandamide; resveratrol; antioxidants;
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