Two experimental Alzheimer's drugs show improvement in memory and anti-ageing
Researchers have found that two experimental
Alzheimer's drugs, known as CMS121 and J147, improve memory and slow the
degeneration of brain cells. The research suggests that the drugs may be useful for treating a broader
array of conditions and points out a new pathway that links normal
ageing to Alzheimer's disease. "This study further validated these two
compounds not only as Alzheimer's drug candidates but also as
potentially more widely useful for their anti-aging effects," said the
study's co-author.
Old age is the biggest risk factor for Alzheimer's disease and above the age of 65, a person's risk of developing the disease doubles about every five years.
"The contribution of old age-associated detrimental processes to the disease has been largely neglected in Alzheimer's disease drug discovery," said a staff scientist and first author of the new paper.
In the new study, the researchers turned to a strain of mice that age unusually fast.
After four months, the team tested the memory and behaviour of the animals and analysed the genetic and molecular markers in their brains.
Not only did the animals given either of the drug candidates performed better on memory tests than mice that had not received any treatment, but their brains also showed differences at the cellular and molecular levels.
In particular, the expression of genes associated with the cell's energy-generating structures called mitochondria was preserved by CMS121 and J147 with ageing.
"The bottom line was that these two compounds prevent molecular changes that are associated with ageing," said the researcher.
More detailed experiments showed that both drugs affected mitochondria by increasing levels of the chemical acetyl-coenzyme A (acetyl-coA).