A drug designed for diabetes sufferers could have the potential to
treat neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's, a study by scientists
at the University of Ulster has revealed.
Type II diabetes is a known risk factor for Alzheimer's and it is
thought that impaired insulin signalling in the brain could damage nerve
cells and contribute to the disease.
Scientists believe that drugs designed to tackle Type II diabetes could also have benefits for keeping our brain cells healthy.
To investigate this, Prof Christian Hölscher and his team at the
Biomedical Sciences Research Institute on the Coleraine campus used an
experimental drug called (Val8)GLP-1.
This drug simulates the activity of a protein called GLP-1, which can
help the body control its response to blood sugar. The scientists
treated healthy mice with the drug and studied its effects in the brain.
Although it is often difficult for drugs to cross from the blood into
the brain, the team found that (Val8)GLP-1 entered the brain and
appeared to have no side-effects at the doses tested.
The drug promoted new brain cells to grow in the hippocampus, an area
of the brain known to be involved in memory. This finding suggests that
as well as its role in insulin signalling, GLP-1 may also be important
for the production of new nerve cells in the mouse brain.
The team found that blocking the effect of GLP-1 in the brain made
mice perform more poorly on learning and memory task, while boosting it
with the drug seemed to have no effect on behaviour.
The new findings, published this week in the journal Brain Research, are part of ongoing research funded by Alzheimer's Research UK, the leading dementia research charity.
Prof Hölscher, said: "Here at the Biomedical Sciences Research
Institute, we are really interested in the potential of diabetes drugs
for protecting brain cells from damage and even promoting new brain
cells to grow. This could have huge implications for diseases like
Alzheimer's or Parkinson's, where brain cells are lost.
"It is very encouraging that the experimental drug we tested,
(Val8)GLP-1, entered the brain and our work suggests that GLP-1 could be
a really important target for boosting memory. While we didn't see
benefits on learning and memory in these healthy mice, we are keen to
test the drugs in mice with signs of Alzheimer's disease, where we could
see real improvements."
Dr Simon Ridley, Head of Research at Alzheimer's Research UK, said:
"We are pleased to have supported this early stage research, suggesting
that this experimental diabetes drug could also promote the growth of
new brain cells. While we know losing brain cells is a key feature of
Alzheimer's, there is a long way to go before we would know whether this
drug could benefit people with the disease.
"This research will help us understand the factors that keep nerve
cells healthy, knowledge that could hold vital clues to tackling
Alzheimer's. With over half a million people in the UK living with the
disease, learning more about how to keep our brain cells healthy is of
vital importance. Funding for dementia research lags far behind that of
other common diseases, but is essential if we are to realise the true
potential of research like this."
The Biomedical Science Research Institute (BMSRI) in Coleraine, is
one of 15 University Research Institutes at Ulster and ranked second in
the UK in the last national Research Assessment Exercise in 2008.
The BMSRI has been conducting pioneering research to investigate the
underlying causes, diagnosis, treatment and prevention of human
degenerative diseases."
Journal Reference:
- Stephen F.J. McGovern, Kerry Hunter, Christian Hölscher. Effects of the glucagon-like polypeptide-1 analogue (Val8)GLP-1 on learning, progenitor cell proliferation and neurogenesis in the C57B/16 mouse brain. Brain Research, 2012; 1473: 204 DOI: 10.1016/j.brainres.2012.07.029
Courtesy: ScienceDaily
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