Potential neuroprotectors
Russian scientists have found a way to stop the development of Alzheimer's disease
Chemical compounds capable of stopping the degeneration of neurons in Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and other severe brain pathologies have been synthesized by scientists of the Ural Federal University named after the first President of Russia B. N. Yeltsin (UrFU).
The study was published in the European Journal of Medicinal Chemistry (Dutysheva et al., Synthesis and approval of new neuroprotective chemicals of pyrrolyl- and indolylazine classes in a cell model of Alzheimer's disease Author links open overlay panel).
Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases are brain diseases in which gradual degeneration of neurons leads to loss of speech, memory and thinking. Most often, people over 65 years of age suffer from them. According to UrFU scientists, the global number of people suffering from Alzheimer's disease alone in 2010 was estimated at 35.6 million people, and by 2050 it is projected to increase to 115.4 million.
Effective drugs for the prevention and treatment of this type of ailments have not yet been created, the scientists noted. Existing means are aimed only at suppressing symptoms, but they cannot stop the process of neurodegeneration itself.
UrFU scientists have obtained substances that, according to them, can provide a breakthrough in the treatment of neurodegenerative pathologies. New molecules of the indolyl- and pyrrolylazine series activate intracellular mechanisms to combat one of the main causes of "senile" brain diseases – an excess of so-called amyloid structures that accumulate in the human brain with age.
"Our compounds activate the synthesis of special heat shock proteins and cause their accumulation in the cell. Proteins of this type make it possible to protect neuronal tissue from an excess of toxic amyloids and protect cells from various types of stress, including proteotoxic stress characteristic of neurodegenerative diseases," said Irina Utepova, professor of the Department of Organic and Biomolecular Chemistry at UrFU.
Important advantages of compounds from the indolyl- and pyrrolylazine series are advantageous synthesis technology and low toxicity, the scientists noted.
The obtained compounds were tested on cellular models of Alzheimer's disease and secondary injuries after traumatic brain injuries. In both cases, the new substances demonstrated a significant therapeutic effect, increasing the survival of neuronal cells, the authors reported.
The most effective compound was tested on living tissues of rats with secondary injuries after traumatic brain injuries. According to scientists, the use of pyrrolylazine in rehabilitation therapy allowed animals to avoid the appearance of motor disorders and degeneration of hippocampal neurons.
Specialists of the Institute of Cytology of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the I.Ya. Postovsky Institute of Organic Synthesis of the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences took part in the study. The research team continues to study the mechanism of action of new compounds and is preparing for their preclinical tests.
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