Press Releases
DRUG TREATS BOTH SYMPTOMS AND CAUSE OF ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE
July 26, 2004
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — A new potential treatment for Alzheimer's disease
has been shown to treat both the symptoms and the cause of the disease. Mice engineered with human Alzheimer's disease genes that received the treatment showed reduced degeneration of neurons, and the rate of premature death was markedly reduced.
"The medications currently used to treat Alzheimer's disease only treat the symptoms, and with limited benefit," said Daniel L. Alkon, Ph.D., research director at the Blanchette Rockefeller Neurosciences Institute (BRNI). "They do not treat the underlying medical condition that is causing the symptoms. This medication treats both the symptoms and the cause of the disease."
In a study printed in the current edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), scientists at BRNI and at research centers in Illinois and Belgium report therapeutic effects when the drug bryostatin was given to transgenic mice that have been specially bred to develop Alzheimer's disease.
"This is the first therapy to have two major benefits," Alkon continued. "It provides symptomatic relief from the memory loss of Alzheimer's disease, and protects against the degeneration of the neurons that causes the memory loss."
The drug works by activating an enzyme called protein kinase C, which improves the activity of another key protein called alpha secretase. This protein plays a role in processing amyloid precursor protein, a central element in Alzheimer's disease progression. In this research, bryostatin was shown to be effective in reducing the levels of soluble beta amyloid and, most likely, the protein deposits of beta amyloid called plaques.
The drug was also tested in human tissue from Alzheimer's disease patients. In the human tissue samples from Alzheimer's patients (versus controls), bryostatin was particularly effective in reducing secretion of soluble beta amyloid.
It is estimated that 4.5 million Americans have Alzheimer's disease, which has no cure and is always fatal. In addition, more than 16 million Americans are expected to have Alzheimer's by 2050 as the baby boom generation ages. Memory loss is the first symptom that is noticed, as recent memories are affected.
BRNI is the only non-profit institute with a dedicated study of human memory. Its primary mission is to accelerate neurological discoveries from the lab, including diagnostic tools and treatments, directly to patients who are suffering from neurological diseases such as Alzheimer's. It is operated in collaboration with West Virginia University in Morgantown and Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. Sen. Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia founded the institute in memory of his mother, who died of Alzheimer's disease.
This research was supported by a variety of funding sources, including the Rockefeller family, the National Institutes of Health, BRNI and private-sector partners.
Bryostatin was originally developed as a cancer-fighting agent, and human clinical trials were conducted. According to Alkon, since it has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration for testing in humans as an anti-cancer agent, the approval process for testing it as an Alzheimer's treatment is much shorter. Clinical trials with bryostatin in Alzheimer's patients could begin as soon as six to eight months.
More information about the Blanchette Rockefeller Neurosciences Institute is available at www.brni.org.