Mouse study identifies potential drug candidate for Alzheimer’s disease
Thursday 02 June 2011
A mouse study has identified a new compound, JM6, which appears to “diminish the effects of both Alzheimer’s disease and Huntingdon’s disease”. The researchers found that JM6 blocked the enzyme kynurenine 3-monooxygenase (KMO), which is believed to play a role in neurodegenerative diseases. JM6 appeared to prevent memory deficits and the loss of synamptic connections between brain cells by “inhibiting KMO in the blood. The blood cells then send a protective signal to the brain, to stabilise brain-cell function and prevent neurodegeneration.” As JM6 does not penetrate into the brain, the impact of JM6 could be confirmed with a blood test. The researchers are hoping to continue to carry out Phase 1 safety trials in humans of JM6 by 2013.
JM6 was named after the researcher’s father, Dr Joseph Mchaowski, who helped his son, Paul, devise the KMO inhibitor.
The study was conducted by Paul Muchowski, an associate investigator at the Gladstone Institutes, USA in collaboration with the University of Maryland and the University of California, San Diego, USA.
For further information please see the article entitled “Gladstone Scientists Discover Drug Candidate for Alzheimer's, Huntington's disease” in the
http://www.gladstone.ucsf.edu/gladstone/site/publicaffairs/content/1/720
And also the article entitled “Kynurenine 3-Monooxygenase Inhibition in Blood Ameliorates Neurodegeneration” in the journal Cell at: