A drug against high blood pressure reduces the accumulation of toxic proteins behind dementia

Felodipine, a drug used to treat high blood pressure, can also prevent the accumulation of toxic proteins in the brain, associated with dementia and other neurodegenerative diseases, including Parkinson's and Huntington's disease. According to a recently published study, felodipine can induce autophagy, a process that removes toxic substances that would otherwise accumulate in the brain and cause irreversible damage.

Neurodegenerative diseases

Although the exact cause of Alzheimer's disease and related diseases remains unknown, they have been strongly linked to misfolded proteins and the accumulation of toxic substances in the brain. This can lead to the development of various neurodegenerative diseases, but it is unclear why this accumulation occurs.

The deficiency of the cleaning mechanism of brain toxic substances and chronic sleep problems have been linked, but it is unclear if one is the cause of the other – for example, if lack of sleep causes the Accumulation or if accumulation causes poor sleep quality. In any case, autophagy – the body's process of eliminating these toxic substances before they can accumulate – remains an important element of potential preventive measures.

A medicine to prevent dementia?

Researchers from the Dementia Research Institute of the United Kingdom and the Cambridge Institute for Medical Research have published a study that details the reallocation potential of the drug for taking high blood pressure, felodipine, as a drug-inducing drug. 39; autophagy. The research follows previous work that revealed a weak link between felodipine and the risk of lower Parkinson's disease.

The team examined mice genetically engineered to contain mutations related to Parkinson's and Huntington's diseases; The study also focused on zebrafish subject to dementia. When they received felodipine, these subjects had a reduced accumulation of toxic substances associated with neurodegenerative conditions.

Note that the team used doses of felodipine similar to those that humans would receive and found evidence that the drug may have benefits at these concentrations.

What does it mean for you?

While the world's population lives to an advanced age, diseases such as Alzheimer's have seen a worrying rise. The need for a drug to treat these neurodegenerative diseases is considered urgent, but up to now, there is no approved drug that induces autophagy and targets aggregates at the same time. 39, origin of diseases such as dementia.

By focusing on drugs that have already been approved for other uses, researchers can potentially speed up the time needed to find an acceptable treatment option. David Rubinsztein, the team's lead teacher, explained:

This is the first time that we are aware that a study has shown that an approved drug can slow down the formation of harmful proteins in the brains of mice at doses that mimic the concentrations of this drug seen in patients. man. As a result, the drug has been able to slow the progression of these potentially devastating conditions and we believe that it should be tested on patients.

It is important to note that the study was about mice and zebrafish, not about people. Further research is needed to determine if this medication for high blood pressure can offer the same potential benefits to humans.