|
A commonly prescribed drug reverses learning and attention deficits in a mouse model of the genetic disorder Neurofibromatosis type I
November 08, 2005This week, researchers report evidence that a statin drug already shown to be safe for use in humans has proven effective at correcting cell-cell communication and curing learning disfunction in a mouse model of Neurofibromatosis type I, a human genetic disorder that causes learning disabilities in millions of people worldwide.
Learning disabilities affect 5% of the world's population, have a profound impact on countless lives, and cost billions of dollars, but there is little or nothing that we are currently able do to prevent or treat this enormous problem. At the heart of this challenge is our lack of understanding of the mechanisms underlying this complex class of brain problems. In an effort to understand these disorders and develop treatments, Dr. Alcino Silva and colleagues at UCLA have focused research on the study of the most common genetic cause for learning disabilities: Neurofibromatosis type I (NF1). The idea behind the NF1 research is that if we understand this particular learning disability, which is caused by a single defective gene, and manage to develop effective and sustainable treatments, we may be able to use the information learned to tackle this general class of learning and memory problems.
Because of the difficulties and limitations of studying mechanisms of memory in human patients, the researchers decided to study NF1 in mice. The scientists had previously shown that mice with the mutations that cause NF1 in human patients possess many of the features of this complex disorder, including deficits in spatial learning, attention, and motor coordination. Studies of these mutant mice showed that the learning deficits are caused by the overactivity of a molecule called Ras, causing an imbalance between signals that activate brain cells and those that inhibit them, and leading to deficits in cell-cell communication needed for learning.
The work reported by Silva and colleagues this week in Current Biology demonstrates that a commonly prescribed statin drug, Lovastatin, can reverse the overactivity of Ras, decrease inhibition, repair the cell-cell communication deficits, and cure the learning disabilities of the adult Nf1 mutant mice. These findings are tremendously exciting because they suggest that the disabling learning deficits associated with NF1, a disorder that affects one in three thousand people world-wide, could be cured with a class of relatively safe drugs (statins) that millions of people have taken for extended periods of time in the last 20 years. Importantly, the findings also demonstrate that contrary to popular belief, the cognitive deficits associated with this disorder are not irreversible developmental deficits, since a limited treatment in adult mice can effectively reverse this condition. Because the mechanisms of NF1 function are similar in mice and men, these findings suggest that statins will be an effective strategy to treat NF1 in humans.
Cell Press
The work reported by Silva and colleagues this week in Current Biology demonstrates that a commonly prescribed statin drug, Lovastatin, can reverse the overactivity of Ras, decrease inhibition, repair the cell-cell communication deficits, and cure the learning disabilities of the adult Nf1 mutant mice. These findings are tremendously exciting because they suggest that the disabling learning deficits associated with NF1, a disorder that affects one in three thousand people world-wide, could be cured with a class of relatively safe drugs (statins) that millions of people have taken for extended periods of time in the last 20 years. Importantly, the findings also demonstrate that contrary to popular belief, the cognitive deficits associated with this disorder are not irreversible developmental deficits, since a limited treatment in adult mice can effectively reverse this condition. Because the mechanisms of NF1 function are similar in mice and men, these findings suggest that statins will be an effective strategy to treat NF1 in humans.
Cell Press
Neurofibromatosis News and Current Neurofibromatosis Events RSSProtein key to neuro-regeneration
Researchers at the Peninsula Medical School in the South West of England, University College London, the San Raffaele Scientific Institute in Milan and Cancer Research UK, have for the first time identified a protein that is key to the regeneration of damage in the peripheral nervous system and which could with further research lead to understanding diseases of our peripheral nervous systems and provide clues to methods of repairing damage in the central nervous system.
Research to lead to brain tumor therapies
Unique human in vitro model (cell culture) research currently underway at the Peninsula Medical School in the South West of England is set to identify and develop therapies for the treatment of multiple tumours in the brain.
Mouse model tightly matches pediatric tumor syndrome, will speed drug hunt
Frustrated by the slow pace of new drug development for a condition that causes pediatric brain tumors, a neurologist at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis decided to try to fine-tune the animal models used to test new drugs.
Cancer gene drives pivotal decision in early brain development
A gene linked to pediatric brain tumors is an essential driver of early brain development, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have found.
Scientists find new agent to fight genetic disorders -- Zorro-Locked Nucleic Acid
A study to appear in the June 2007 issue of The FASEB Journal describes a new agent, called "Zorro-LNA," which has the potential to stop genetic disorders in their tracks.
Tracing the pathways of neurofibromatosis
Michael Stern's latest research into the formation of neurofibromatosis tumors reads something like a federal racketeering indictment, except that Stern's tracing proteins instead of laundered money, and he's looking not at offshore accounts but at biochemical paths of cause and effect.
For kids with high blood pressure, surgery can help when medicines fail
High blood pressure may seem like something that only adults get, after years of smoking, overeating and little exercise. But children can develop it too - and just as in adults, uncontrolled high blood pressure can pose serious risks to children's hearts, brains and lives.
Protein plays broader role than originally thought in neurofibromatosis
Neurofibromatosis type I is a common genetic disorder in which tumors grow along certain types of nerves and can also affect other tissues such as bone, heart, and skin.
Mouse to man: The story of chromosomes
The complete sequencing of human chromosome 17 and mouse chromosome 11 offers unique insights into the evolution of the genome of higher mammals.
UCSF surgeon develops new spinal surgery technique
Called a lateral paramedian transpedicular approach, the technique uses advances in spinal instrumentation and reconstructive strategies to provide a direct approach to the removal of cervical spinal tumors with minimal, or no, neural manipulation.
More Neurofibromatosis News Articles
| © 2008 BrightSurf.com |