 "New drug may help treat Alzheimer's disease: Study")
Japanese researchers have developed a new drug that may help treat Alzheimer's disease by improving cognition and reducing the production of amyloid beta proteins in the brain.
Researchers at Tohoku University in Japan found that the T-type calcium channel enhancer, SAK3, stimulates the release of acetylcholine in the brain and improves cognition by activating the memory molecule CaMKII.
Acetylcholine is a neurotransmitter in the brain that plays an important role in controlling attention and cognition.
Acetylcholine system dysfunction is believed to be one of the causes of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and vascular dementia.
According to Kohji Fukunaga from Tohoku University, SAK3 also reduces the production of amyloid beta protein in the study's model mice.
This, he said, could lead to the development of the first disease-modifying drug to prevent mild to severe Alzheimer's disease.
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SAK3 is now in the preclinical stage of drug development, and has so far proven to be safe and well-tolerated in animal experiments, researchers said.
Clinical trials are expected to begin in the next few years, said researchers.