{"id":67171,"date":"2019-02-19T15:45:28","date_gmt":"2019-02-19T20:45:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/busm\/?p=67171"},"modified":"2019-02-19T15:45:28","modified_gmt":"2019-02-19T20:45:28","slug":"possible-pathway-to-new-therapy-for-alzheimers-disease","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/camed\/2019\/02\/19\/possible-pathway-to-new-therapy-for-alzheimers-disease\/","title":{"rendered":"Possible Pathway to New Therapy for Alzheimer\u2019s Disease"},"content":{"rendered":"

The discovery, when further developed, could ameliorate or cure AD<\/em><\/p>\n

Researchers have uncovered an enzyme and a biochemical pathway they believe may lead to the identification of drugs that could inhibit the production of beta-amyloid protein, the toxic initiator of Alzheimer\u2019s disease (AD).<\/p>\n

AD is characterized by the accumulation of beta-amyloid plaques, tau fibers and the loss of neurons in the brain. Currently, no FDA-approved drugs exist that attack the cause of disease. <\/span><\/p>\n

After screening more than 75,000 small molecules, researchers at Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) and Boston University discovered a molecule that reduced the formation of amyloid beta protein in cells grown in petri dishes. \u201cBut more importantly we discovered the target of these molecules, an enzyme and a biochemical pathway that can be inhibited in Alzheimer\u2019s to decrease amyloid production,\u201d explained corresponding author Carmela Abraham, PhD, professor of biochemistry.<\/p>\n

According to the researchers, the inhibitors of this pathway are also anti-cancer therapies and are another example where cancer and neurodegeneration cross paths.<\/p>\n

The researchers are optimistic that their study will open a new avenue of research to stall or even stop the buildup of beta-amyloid protein. \u201cWe are in desperate need of drugs that can treat or even prevent Alzheimer\u2019s disease. Additional studies to improve our small molecules could lead to a disease-modifying pill for the millions who suffer from AD or those at high risk of developing the disease.\u201d<\/p>\n

These finding appear in the Journal of Alzheimer\u2019s Disease<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Funding for this study was provided by grants from the Alzheimer\u2019s Association, the Cure Alzheimer\u2019s Fund and the Boston University Alzheimer\u2019s Disease Center. Work at the BU-CMD is supported by R24-753 GM111625.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The discovery, when further developed, could ameliorate or cure AD.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":903,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[91,90],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/camed\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67171"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/camed\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/camed\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/camed\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/903"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/camed\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=67171"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/camed\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67171\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":67172,"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/camed\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67171\/revisions\/67172"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/camed\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=67171"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/camed\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=67171"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/camed\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=67171"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}