Therapeutic target to treat neurodegenerative disorders

Carmen Escolano Mirón

Fundació Bosch i Gimpera, Universitat de Barcelona, Spain

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) represents a major strain on health systems and society. The number of people affected by this disease is increasing dramatically around the world and there are currently no effective treatments. A common symptom of neurodegenerative diseases, such as AD, is progressive cognitive impairment.

Attempts to develop new drugs for the treatment of cognitive impairment have failed because of the wrong choice of therapeutic target. This is due to insufficient work on target validation in animal experiments preceding clinical trials. This proposal focuses on a new therapeutic target, the imidazolic receptors I2 (I2-IR), which are altered in the brains of AD patients. The asset of this project is a new family of patented compounds with high potency and selectivity as I2-IR ligands, and in particular one candidate, B06, with proven in vivo efficacy for cognitive improvement in two animal models of neurodegeneration and AD. This project will allow treatment to progress in preclinical studies and confirm its therapeutic potential for the improvement of AD cognitive deficits.

This treatment represents hope for patients and families and a new tool for dealing with neurodegenerative diseases.