Alzheimer (AD) is a progressive neurological disease that leads to memory loss, cognitive decline and changes in behavior, with a significant impact on patients’ lives and their families. 55 million people suffer from the world. Numbers intended to triple by 2060, according to the estimates of a new investigation published on Nature Medicine. To date, there is still no definitive care for Alzheimer’s, but several promising therapies are being investigated. Under this, an experimental medicine (GL-II-73), developed by researchers from the Center for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), the largest research structure in Canada for Mental Health and addictions, which have been proven to be able to restore the memory and other cognitive functions in a Murino model with Ad.
“In addition to improving memory – the researchers said – the drug has preferred the growth of new neuronal connections, fundamentally for learning and maintaining cognitive skills”. If GL-II-73 will also be effective in human tests (which will start in 2025), this could be a revolutionary therapeutic option in the care of the AD, and an important step forward in the fight against one of the worst diseases of our time. The details of the research have been published Neurobiology of aging.
The study
The researchers tested the drug on two groups of mice: a group of genetically susceptible to develop the accumulation of beta-amyloid, a distinctive sign of Alzheimer’s and another healthy, to develop as control. Both young and older mice were used to display the initial and subsequent phases of the disease. The researchers then administered a single dose of GL-II-73 to evaluate the immediate effects and subject the mice to a chronic treatment of four weeks to study long-term reactions. They then evaluated the performance of memory in all groups.
The drug restores the Mnemonic capital
The results showed that a single dose of the drug is able to restore Mnemonic skills in mice with disease in the initial phase, making them similar to those of healthy mice. In mice with more advanced disease, however, chronic treatment has shown benefits, albeit to a lesser extent. This suggests that GL-II-73 can partially improve memory shortages, even after a significant cognitive decline.
“The results were surprising – said Dr. Etienne Sibille, scientific director of the Neurobiology Program of Depression and aging at the Camh and author of the study. – We discovered a critical point of vulnerability in the brain circuits involved in Alzheimer’s, and this medicine could represent one turning point”. “Restoring the neural function and the reversal of memory shortages -he continued -GL -III -73 represents a potential early intervention for Alzheimer’s, confronted with the main cause of memory loss, something that cannot get a current medicine”.
Effective therapy for the patients of Alzheimer’s
The results suggest that the drug could have significant implications for Alzheimer’s disease, for which there are currently no treatments that can reverse cognitive decline. Unlike many existing drugs that have a target, GL-II-73 has the GABA receptors as a selective target in the Hippocampus to restore brain function and restore damaged neural connections. The study also suggests that the drug could also be promising for other mental disorders associated with cognitive decline, including depression, epilepsy and schizophrenia.
The first human tests in 2025
The promising results of this study accelerated the development process of medicines by laying the Basis of Damona Pharmaceuticals, a Biotech startup supported by the CAMH and specialized in marketing treatments for neurological disorders. The company of the company, John Reilly, said that GL -II -73 has obtained the approval of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to start the first clinical studies on humans in 2025. “With the support of investors and a team of experts, we are ready to bring this innovative molecule to clinical experimentation -AID phase -aidily. Patients with Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative pathologies.”
The medicines that are available today
Although there is still no definitive care for the CEO, there are medicines available that can delay cognitive decline and improve the quality of life of patients. Among these, the inhibitors of acetylcholinesterase or memantine, who can help improve memory, language capacity and cognitive function in the initial phases of the disease. Two monoclonal antibodies have also recently been approved by the Food and Drug Administration: Donanemab and Lecanemab, which act by removing the excessive accumulation of amyloid plates from the brains of patients with Alzheimer’s. However, like other anti-amyloid drugs, they can cause important side effects, Just like cerebral edema and bleeding, so they must be managed with careful monitoring. Moreover, they are effective to only delay the cognitive decline if they are applied in the initial phase of the disease.
After a revaluation of his initial negative opinion, the European Agency for Medicines in November also expressed a positive advice on the release of Lecanemab on the market, but not for patients with two copies of the gene Apoe4For which the risk of experimenting of cerebral edema and bleeding is greater.
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