Alzheimer’s drug shows promise

Hyderabad: While there’s no cure yet for diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, scientists in the city say they are closer to developing two drugs that can repair brain neurons

Researchers from the Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (IICT), UoH, Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) and Columbia University have developed two drugs that can help develop and repair neurons.

Neurons are nerve cells that process and transmit signals from the brain. Scientists said the two drugs had proved to be effective in reversing brain stroke. Researchers say the same drugs hold promise against deadly diseases like Alzheimer’s.

“We tested the two compounds in cases of brain damage caused by cardiac arrest and they worked well. In stroke, oxygen supply to the brain gets cut and there is loss of neurons. If such patients survive they lose brain functions due to loss of neurons,” said Dr Sumana Chakravarty, senior scientist at IICT.

Stroke models in zebra fish, whose brains have high genetic resemblance to humans, were tested with the drugs. Scientists explained that the two drugs had neurogenic and neurotrophic properties. “Having neurotrophic properties is not enough, neurogenicity is also required,” she said. One of these compounds is neurotrophic while the other is neurogenic.

Neurotrophics help in growth and survival of neurons while neurogenics help repair neurons.

Upbeat with the results, the scientists are trying to test the compounds for curing conditions like depression, schizophrenia and even diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. Alzheimer’s is a neurodegenerative disease. “In Alzheimer’s there are other complications. So we have to look at them too. Next, we will test the drugs in cases of depression, schizophrenia and whether they have any potential against Alzheimer’s,” Dr Chakra-varty said.