2005 - New Hope for Treating Alzheimer's
October 26, 2005 3:19 p.m. EST
Ayinde O. Chase - All Headline News Staff Writer
St. Louis, MO (AHN) - Saint Louis University research shows a new generation of drugs may hold hope in treating brain chemical problems such as Alzheimer’s disease.
William A. Banks, M.D., professor of geriatrics and pharmacological and physiological sciences at Saint Louis University and principal investigator says, "We found that we can develop antisense – which is a molecular compound – to cross the blood brain barrier enough to alter brain function. This can have a profound effect on treating diseases that occur because there is too much or too little of a certain kind of protein in the brain. The blood brain barrier is the Holy Grail – it’s the most difficult tissue to pass through."
Antisense molecules are very specific compounds that researchers can create to insert into genetic pathways and inhibit specific genes from creating harmful proteins. Many scientists think that overproduction of the amyloid beta protein in the brain may be the culprit in Alzheimer’s disease.
Banks and his study team created three different antisense compounds, which lowered brain levels of Met-Enk and caused mice to drink more alcohol.
He says, "We found that the antisense molecules, especially when given as a cocktail of three antisense compounds, decreased Met-Enk in the brain and increased alcohol drinking."
The study is important in learning about alcoholism. Banks says theoretically, scientists could develop an antisense that targets the brain chemical responsible for producing more Met-Enk as a possible treatment for alcoholism.
But, the findings are even more significant because they suggest that scientists can develop compounds that cross the blood brain barrier and turn off messenger genes that instruct cells to make or break down proteins in the brain that cause certain diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease.
allheadlinenews.com |
