Hey, this is Grace Wang again…
I am absolutely fascinated by neurodegenerative diseases, and stumbled across this article, which discusses research currently being conducted at Harvard and MIT which holds great promise for those suffering from Alzheimer’s Disease. Read more here: http://www.technologyreview.com/Biotech/19080/
Currently, those suffering from Alzheimer’s Disease and other neurodegenerative disorders can only be treated for their symptoms; prevention and reversal of these disorders has not yet been possible with current medical technology. This is a great cause for concern given that neurodegenerative disorders continue to plague an increasingly large fraction of the population who are helpless as their neurons and neuronal connections disintegrate into nothingness…
Research at Harvard and MIT offers positive change, however. A gene called SIRT1 and a plant compound found in red wine, resveratrol, have been shown to protect against neuron degeneration in a mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease. After developing what is considered a human equivalent of Alzheimer’s disease, the laboratory mice experienced impaired spatial learning and found it increasingly difficult to associate cause and effect sequences. Miraculously, treatment with resveratrol restored the learning capabilities of the impaired mice to a level compared to normal mice and decreased the death of neurons and their connections. This finding is extremely important because it shows that resveratrol is both neuroprotective and can improve cognitive function, even after the onset of severe neurodegeneration.
This effect can also be achieved with activation of SIRT1, which has been shown to keep cells robust in a wide variety of settings. Compounds activating SIRT1 must, however, be able to bypass the blood brain barrier in order to be effective. This is a concern important to those developing drugs targeting the brain.
Both possible therapeutic pathways, resveratrol and SIRT1 activation hold great promise in treating those individuals already suffering from neurodegenerative diseases by reversing neuron death. This is, unfortunately, an advancement which has not yet been possible.