EU €9.7m grant for Alzheimer's research
The EU has granted €9.7m for research into the molecule NCAM, which orchestrates memory and learning.
The EU has granted €9.7m for research into the molecule NCAM, which orchestrates memory and learning.
The so-called PROMEMORIA project will be realised by a consortium of 18 research teams from 11 EU countries and will be administered by Elisabeth Bock, a professor at the University of Copenhagen.
She believes that the project will play an important role in the development of drugs for diseases in the central nervous system and a generally improved understanding of the processes behind the memory and the learning ability.
'The molecule NCAM, which occurs in the nerve cells, is an incredibly complex molecule which acts as a control board for functions such as the memory and the learning ability. NCAM and its functions represent a new angle to the development of drugs for treating diseases such as depression, Parkinson's Disease, stroke and Alzheimer's Disease,' said Professor Bock.
Most of the existing drugs are targeted at the symptoms rather than the causes of the conditions. 'NCAM has to do with the growth of the nerve cells, communication and health. The exploration of NCAM may therefore lead to types of treatment which may bring the disease to a standstill or cure the diseases,' she added.
One of the companies involved in the project is Danish biotech company, ENKAM Pharmaceuticals, which was established by Professor Bock in 2000. The business has produced a small molecule that assimilates parts of the NCAM. The molecule is said to have the potential to cure Alzheimer's Disease.
'The optimal drug to treat Alzheimer's Disease has to fulfil three criteria,' said ENKAM ceo Morten Albrechtsen. 'It has to be able to remove the beta amyloid, which deposits in the brain; it has to be able to re-establish the functions of the neuronal cells and their mutual communication; and it has to be able to improve the memory and learning abilities.
'Our molecule satisfies all three criteria when tested on rats suffering from a condition resembling Alzheimer's Disease.'
The molecules are targeted at a receptor in the brain that is identical in rats and man. Therefore, the probability that the effect will be similar as to the human brain is considerable. The molecule will be tested on human beings in clinical trials that will be carried out this year.