Project Summary
Chronic inflammation is associated with a broad spectrum of neurodegenerative diseases of aging, including Alzheimer's disease. The lack of effective therapies clearly highlights the need for more research aimed at better understanding the specific mechanisms that cause AD
Dr. Sonia Mazzitelli and colleagues propose a new way to investigate the connection between chronic inflammation and the brain nerve-cell loss associated with AD. They have identified a new target and a new inhibitor, both of which may be involved with the brain-cell death induced by inflammation in AD. These researchers will first determine exactly how the target protein contributes to cell death by inflammation; then they will use an inhibitor drug against the target protein to see if it prevents this cell death. To test their new treatment, these researchers are using animals engineered to mimic the progression of symptoms in human AD. Being able to monitor any potential side effects experienced by these mice is important in validating the activity of the new drug.
The results of this study may lead to a new direction for developing anti-inflammatory drugs for the treatment not only of AD, and potentially of other diseases influenced by inflammation. Therefore, the Mazzitelli team's research may have an impact on other missions of BrightFocus, including finding new treatments for macular degeneration and glaucoma.
