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2007 Grant - Pasinetti

Anti-Hypertensive Drugs That Prevent Alzheimer's Disease Beta-Amyloid Pathology

Giulio Maria Pasinetti, M.D., Ph.D.
Mount Sinai School of Medicine
New York, New York

2007 Investigator-Initiated Research Grant

In an effort to identify effective drug therapies for Alzheimer's disease, some researchers have begun testing drugs that are commercially available for treatment of other disorders. Giulio Maria Pasinetti, M.D., Ph.D., and colleagues have been participating in this effort by analyzing numerous drugs designed to fight hypertension. They conducted studies using (1) cell cultures and (2) mice genetically engineered to develop Alzheimer-like symptoms.

Preliminary results found that seven hypertension drugs were capable of preventing cognitive decline associated with Alzheimer's disease. Further research indicated that the drugs significantly reduced beta-amyloid levels in both the cell cultures and the brains of the mice. Beta-amyloid is suspected of damaging cell-to-cell communication and causing cell death in Alzheimer's disease.

For this proposed grant, Dr. Pasinetti and colleagues will continue to characterize these seven promising drugs. They will also analyze other drug candidates that may produce similar positive effects on cognitive ability and beta-amyloid levels. Results of this effort could lead to the identification of a wide variety of previously unsuspected Alzheimer therapies.