Researchers, including one of Indian origin, have claimed that a
small molecule called TFP5 rescues plaques and tangles by
blocking an overactive brain signal, thereby restoring memory in
mice with Alzheimer's disease. A new study by NIH researchers
shows that when a molecule called TFP5 is injected into mice
with disease that is the equivalent of human Alzheimer's,
symptoms are reversed and memory is restored-without obvious
toxic side effects. "We hope that clinical trial studies in AD
patients should yield an extended and a better quality of life
as observed in mice upon TFP5 treatment," Harish C. Pant from
National Institute of Neurological Disorders at Stroke said.
"Therefore, we suggest that TFP5 should be an effective
therapeutic compound," he said. To make this discovery, Pant and
colleagues used mice with a disease considered the equivalent of
Alzheimer's. One set of these mice were injected with the small
molecule TFP5, while the other was injected with saline as
placebo. The mice, after a series of