Cancer drug may be effective for Alzheimer's

Oct 26 2005

According to scientists at the Blanchette Rockefeller Neurosciences Institute and the Marine Biological Laboratory, a cancer drug may stimulate the production of proteins needed for long-term memory, suggesting the compound may a possible treatment for Alzheimer's disease.

The researchers say that by introducing bryostatin into a marine snail, days before a learning activity, it caused a marked improvement in long-term memory.

Lead author of the study Dr. Daniel Alkon, says this could be a real breakthrough for Alzheimer's patients.

According to the Alzheimer's Association over 4 million Americans currently suffer from Alzheimer's and its incidence is forecast to rise to 16 million people by 2050 as the U.S. population ages.

An early symptom of Alzheimer's disease is losing the ability to store new memories for the long term.

It appears bryostatin enhances this long-term storage.

Dr. Alkon, the Institute's scientific director says that in the snail experiment, they put bryostatin in sea water, days in advance of any learning or training, causing certain proteins to be made by the neurons of the snails.

The researchers found that when the snails were trained days later, instead of remembering something for a minute or two, they would remember it for weeks.

In a separate last year, experiments in mice suggested bryostatin also helps prevent the protein buildup seen in the brains of Alzheimer's victims.

It seems that Bryostatin was found in bacteria that act as a chemical defense mechanism for the marine invertebrate Bugula neritina, a purplish brown animal with stringy tufts.

The Blanchette Rockefeller Neurosciences Institute, is named after West Virginia Democratic Sen. John Rockefeller's mother, who died after a struggle with Alzheimer's disease.

The institute has a patent for the use of bryostatin to treat Alzheimer's disease and is in discussion with the private sector on a partnership to shepherd the drug through clinical trials and any subsequent marketing efforts.

The institute's president Dr. Robert D'Alessandri believes they are on the right path towards providing Alzheimer's patients and their families with a treatment that goes to the underlying cause of the disease.

The study is published in the current edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science.