Thaindian News

Washington, Sept 22 (ANI): Neurological researchers at Rush University Medical Center have found a new therapeutic target that can potentially lead to a new way to prevent the progression of Alzheimer’s disease.

The target called neutral sphingomyelinase (N-SMase) is a protein that when activated, can cause a chain of reactions in the cell leading to neuronal death and memory loss.

“There are multiple, neurotoxic, disease-causing pathways that converge on the neutral sphingomyelinase that can cause neuronal loss in the brain of an Alzheimer’s patient,” said Kalipada Pahan, PhD, neurological researcher and lead investigator at Rush.

“If we can stop the activation of the neutral sphingomylinase, we may be able to stop memory loss and the progression of Alzheimer’s disease,” he said.

Researchers at Rush were able to determine that the neutral sphingomyelinase is triggered by the activated brain cells and beta-amyloid.

However, when the neutral sphingomyelinase was inhibited by using a small molecule inhibitor and a chemical inhibitor, the activated brain cells and beta amyloid were unable to kill neurons.

Experts tested the two inhibitors using human brain cells in a mouse model and a cell culture model.

“Understanding how the disease process works is important in identifying effective approaches to protect the brain and stop the progression of Alzheimer’s disease.

“The results of this study are very promising and our next step is to translate these findings to the clinic.

“If we can develop and test a clinical medication that can target the neutral sphingomyelinase, we may be able to halt memory loss in Alzheimer’s disease patients,” said Pahan.

Results from the study were published in the September 22 issue of the Journal of Neuroscience. (ANI)