BUSM researchers have found that the diabetic drug, pramlintide, reduces amyloid-beta peptides, a major component of Alzheimer\u2019s disease (AD) in the brain and improves learning and memory in two experimental AD models. These findings, which appear online in Molecular Psychiatry<\/i>, also found AD patients have a lower level of amylin in blood compared to those without this disease. These results may provide a new avenue for both treatment and diagnosis of AD.<\/p>\n
Using AD models, the BUSM researchers investigated the effects of amylin on the pathogenesis of the disease. \u201cSurprisingly, injections of amylin or pramlintide into the AD models reduced the amyloid burden as well as lowered the concentrations of amyloid-beta peptides (A\u03b2), a major component of AD in the brain,\u201d said senior author Wendy Qiu, MD, PhD, associate professor of psychiatry and pharmacology at BUSM. Pramlintide is an analog of a natural occurring peptide, amylin, produced by the pancreas. \u201cIt can easily cross the blood\/brain barrier and has shown favorable safety profile for diabetes patients,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n
According to the researchers, including lead author Haihao Zhu, MD, PhD, from the department of pharmacology & experimental therapeutics at BUSM, these results argue for a therapeutic application of amylin-class peptides for AD.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is broad agreement that more therapeutic avenues need to be explored in addition to targeting A\u03b2 for the treatment of AD,\u201d said Qiu. \u201cAmylin-class drugs not only remove A\u03b2 from the brain, as demonstrated by our study, but also can improve glucose metabolism and cerebrovasculature in the AD brain. Based on their findings the researchers propose that amylin-class peptides have potential to become a new avenue as a challenge test for diagnosis of AD and as well as a therapeutic for the disease. If the clinical trial proves the effect of pramlintide for Alzheimer\u2019s disease, Qiu believes this drug can be applied to Alzheimer\u2019s patients in only three to five years.<\/p>\n
This work was supported by grants from the National Institute on Aging, AG-022476, an Ignition Award and a BU ADC pilot grant. Support was also provided through P30 AG13864.<\/p>\n
Qiu and her team recently received an investigator \u2013initiated grant from the Alzheimer\u2019s Disease Association to further pursue this study.<\/p>\n
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