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Cell-Killing Acid Found in Brains of All Dementia
Patients
May serve as guide to new drug treatments for
Alzheimers
Aug. 5, 2005 An acid that kills nerve cells in
the brain, quinolinic acid, was found in all the brains of dementia
patients tested in a recent study released today, which the Australian researchers say
suggests the toxin plays an important role in the progression of
Alzheimer's disease (AD), the most common form of dementia.
They say their finding is significant because it
may provide evidence that could lead drug developers who are working on
drugs for other conditions to investigate their use for Alzheimers
patients to halt progression of the disease.
Current drug are only minimally effective
treatments for the condition, which is increasing with the aging
population.
"We found that all of the brains of dementia
patients showed quinolinic acid neurotoxicity," said Professor Bruce
Brew, Director of Neurology at St Vincent's Hospital and Professor of
Medicine at the University of New South Wales (UNSW). "This acid kills
nerve cells in the brain, leading to brain dysfunction and ultimately
death."
"Quinolinic acid is part of a biochemical pathway
called the kynurenine pathway," said the lead author of the research,
UNSW's Dr Gilles Guillemin, who is based at the Centre for Immunology at
St Vincent's Hospital. "The activation of that pathway is also found in
other major brain diseases including Huntington's disease, stroke,
dementia and schizophrenia."
The paper Indoleamine 2, 3 dioxygenase and
quinolinic acid Immunoreactivity in Alzheimer's disease hippocampus has
been published this week in the leading international journal
Neuropathology and Applied Neurobiology. It is the result of
collaboration between researchers from St Vincent's Hospital, UNSW, the
University of Sydney and Hokkaido University, Japan.
"There are several drugs which can block this
pathway, which are already under investigation by our laboratory and
others," said Dr Guillemin.
The drugs, which would need to be tested for
efficacy, could be used to complement other treatments.
"Quinolinic acid may not be the cause of
Alzheimer's disease, but it plays a key role in its progression," said
Alzheimer's researcher, Dr Karen Cullen from the University of Sydney.
"It's the smoking gun, if you like.
"While we won't be able to prevent people from
getting Alzheimer's disease, we may eventually, with the use of drugs,
be able to slow down the progression."
The other researchers are Claire Noonan from Sydney
University and Osamu Takikawa from Hokkaido University, Japan.
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