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Alzheimer's, Dementia & Mental Health
Alzheimer's Disease Slowed by Existing
Anti-Hypertension Drugs in New Study
Propranololo-HCL (Inderal) targeted for
research as tsunami looms
December 6, 2006 – With the prospect of an
Alzheimer's tsunami looming as the horde of baby boomers near the danger
years, researchers have increased efforts to find more effective
treatment for the disease. A broad screening of existing drugs has found
"promising evidence" that cardiovascular anti-hypertensive agents may
decrease the incidence or slow the progression of Alzheimer’s disease
and one, in particular, Propranololo-HCL (Inderal), is targeted for
further study.
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Read the latest news
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Alzheimer's, Dementia & Mental Health |
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The research, conducted by Dr. Gulio Maria
Pasinetti at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York, NY, was
released today at the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology’s (ACNP)
annual conference.
Among several hundred drugs that were identified in
Dr. Pasinetti’s laboratory as having promise in preventing beta-amyloid
build-up, seven of the drugs are commonly prescribed to treat
hypertension.
These findings suggest that a large number of
geriatric patients currently under pharmacological treatment for
high-blood pressure with certain anti-hypertensive drugs may also reap
the benefits of the drug’s cognitive effects.
Dr. Pasinetti’s research is part of a growing push
to identify and develop more effective treatments for Alzheimer’s
disease.
“There is no convincing evidence that there is any
available drug presently on the market to cure Alzheimer’s disease, and
there are many questions surrounding the effectiveness of drugs that are
available to delay or effectively alleviate symptoms of memory
deterioration or dementia,” said Pasinetti.
Despite major breakthroughs over the past ten years
in understanding the pathogenesis, molecular mechanisms and possible
causes of Alzheimer’s disease, limited progress has been done in the
identification of novel therapeutic strategies that made a real impact
in the prevention or treatment of the disease in the general
population.”
Over the past two years, researchers have begun
screening drugs that are already commercially available for treatment of
other disorders to determine their potential value in treating
Alzheimer’s disease and cognitive impairment.
Commonly prescribed drugs were administered in
vitro (in artificial environment, such as a test tube) to brain cells
derived from animal models genetically predisposed to develop
Alzheimer’s disease amyloid neuropathology.
The brain cells in vitro were then monitored to
systematically assess the potential beneficial effect of novel drugs,
especially in respect to generation of abnormally processed
beta-amyloid.
Abnormally processed beta-amyloid has been
identified as playing a key role in Alzheimer’s disease pathogenesis,
particularly in respect to cognitive deterioration.
Thus, characterization of novel drug treatments
preventing abnormal beta-amyloid generation will help in the
identification of future, novel pharmacological treatments for
Alzheimer’s disease.
This recent, promising evidence indicates that
cardiovascular anti-hypertensive agents may decrease the incidence or
slow the progression of Alzheimer’s disease.
During the course of the research, one drug in
particular was identified as effective in blocking the accumulation of
beta-amyloid in the brain and preventing the deterioration of cognitive
performance.
The drug, Propranololo-HCL (Inderal), is widely
prescribed in elderly patients to treat high blood pressure. Further
research is necessary to determine if these patients may also be
benefiting from the potential cognitive effects of the drug.
Pasinetti noted that it might also be possible to
identify a concentration of this compound that confers the beta-amyloid
blocking benefit without affecting blood pressure.
“If we can give this drug at concentrations that do
not affect blood pressure, this drug could be made available for all
members of the geriatric population identified as being at high risk for
developing Alzheimer’s disease,” said Pasinetti.
Pasinetti was quick to point out the limitations of
the research, noting that studies must be conducted in human subjects
that examine the effects of the drug independent of its role as an
anti-hypertensive agent.
“The use of these drugs for their potential
anti-amyloidogenic role is still highly experimental, and at this stage
we have no clinical data beyond phenomenological observation,” said
Pasinetti. “We need to complete clinical trials in the future if we are
to identify preventive drugs, which will need to be prescribed at
dosages that do not interfere with hypertension.”
Editor's Notes:
ACNP is holding its Annual Meeting December 3 - 7,
2006, in Hollywood, FL.
ACNP, founded in 1961, is a professional
organization of more than 700 leading scientists, including three Nobel
Laureates. The mission of ACNP is to further research and education in
neuropsychopharmacology and related fields in the following ways:
promoting the interaction of a broad range of scientific disciplines of
brain and behavior in order to advance the understanding of prevention
and treatment of disease of the nervous system including psychiatric,
neurological, behavioral and addictive disorders; encouraging scientists
to enter research careers in fields related to these disorders and their
treatment; and ensuring the dissemination of relevant scientific
advances. A non-profit organization, ACNP receives revenues from a
variety of sources including membership dues, publication sales,
registration fees, and pharmaceutical industry grants.
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