Aging of the brain and neurodegenerative diseases: epidemic of the 21st century?

-could the Cannabis-based medicines have therapeutic effects for patients with Huntington? Formerly known as dance of St. Vitus, affects about 4,500 people in Spain. Occurs between 35-45 years and inevitably leads to death within a period of 15-20 years

-the Institute for research in neurochemistry (IUIN) of the University Complutense of Madrid organized, with the collaboration of the CIBERNED, a day of science which will analyse the main advances in research that is being carried out

Madrid, November 2011- in the framework of the science week, CIBERNED collaborated in the day aging of the brain and neurodegenerative diseases: epidemic of the 21st century? ”, organized by the Institute for research in neurochemistry (IUIN) of the Complutense University of Madrid, had intended to give a scientific answer to the challenge of the ageing of the brain.

In this sense, aims to address the major advances in research that are being developed for diseases like Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, Huntington or Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) in an informative manner, the scientific programme is aimed at students of health sciences and experimental, researchers and university professorsclinicians, patients and caregivers, different representatives of affected and public associations in general.

In addition to the center of biomedical research in network on neurodegenerative diseases (CIBERNED), also worked on the day the Institute Ramon y Cajal of health research (IRYCIS) and the Spanish society for research on cannabinoid (SEIC).

We are living longer but we are more exposed to diseases for which the age is the main risk factor:

during the last century, developed by scientific advances have enabled to increase the life expectancy of people, but this benefit means new challenges for researchers. One of the major risk factors for neurodegenerative diseases is age. The progressive ageing of the population in developed countries has meant an increase in the prevalence of this type of pathology. For example, in the case of Alzheimer’s disease, one of the most prevalent neurodegenerative diseases, there are an estimated currently at Spain about 500,000 sick, but forecasts suggest that this figure could quadruple in the next 50 years. This increase in the number of affected could have serious consequences, not only for patients and their families, but also for the sustainability of the national health system.

Scientific day on which he collaborated CIBERNED consists of two distinct parts: the first devoted to review the most important aspects of current research on four of the chronic neurodegenerative conditions which arouse greater interest social, health and research – Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, Huntington’s and the Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis -, and a second part organized in the form of round table which presents some of the studies currently being undertaken for the development of new therapeutic strategies for implementation in these diseases.

Dr. Jesús Ávila, scientific director of the CIBERNED, spoke of the main lines of research currently in development on Alzheimer’s disease, especially addressed to prevent his home and to stop its progression. In the case of new treatments, compounds which is underway also engaged in prevention with two fundamental objectives: preventing the fragmentation of the APP protein and the emergence, or aggregation of amyloid beta peptide and others to prevent phosphorylation and aggregation of the tau protein. So far, encouraging results in mice has been, but you have not been the same success in humans.

On Huntington’s disease, José Luis López Sendón, clinical investigator of CIBERNED, has exposed the trials under way with different types of molecules with potential neuroprotective. In addition, at the round table also participated researchers of this body, as Ana Isabel red, who has submitted the data obtained in his laboratory on the potential of the route of the transcription factor nrf-2 in the treatment of Parkinson’s, and José Luis Trejo, who has addressed the issue of neuroregenerativa in neurodegenerative diseases therapy.

This clinical trial will include 24 patients. For 12 weeks, half of them will be treated with this medication and the other half with placebo. After a period of rest of 4 to 6 weeks, patients will again undergo treatment, but in reverse. To that in the first phase was administered Sativex r, in the second phase they will take placebo, and vice versa. Two types of objectives will be assessed in the trial. The primary objective is to show that the drug is safe in patients, and the secondary objective is to show a slowdown in the evolution of the disease with this medication.

To do so, will proceed to neurological analysis based on the UHDRS scale (Unified Huntington ’ s Disease Rating Scale) to image in vivo study and analyze different biomarkers (BDNF, cytokines, receptors Endocannabinoids, and enzymes) in cerebrospinal fluid, plasma, cells and fibroblasts cultured from biopsies of skin, among others.

Cannabinoids are a heterogeneous group of substances of vegetable origin (fitocannabinoides – present in the plant Cannabis sativa-), endogenous (Endocannabinoids: lipids present in the animal brain signs), or synthetic (obtained in the laboratory by chemical synthesis), they have important properties neuroprotective based on its ability to reduce the excess of transmission glutamatérgica (excitotoxicity) that occurs in neurodegenerative diseases and It is one of the main causes of neuronal death. Also limit other causes of neuronal death such as oxidative damage (oxidative stress) produced by an excess of generation of radical free (do so because of its antioxidant properties), or the phenomena of neuroinflamación associated with the activation of glial cells especially microglia (do thanks to its anti-inflammatory capacity). In neurodegenerative diseases these cytotoxic processes usually appear in a cooperative manner to damage neurons, so a good therapeutic strategy for controlling the damage should be based on molecules, or combinations of molecules, which can be effective against all these processes at the same time.

In addition, the seminar organized by the IUIN, in which collaborated CIBERNED, also has had the participation of other researchers that have dealt with different aspects of research on diseases neurodegenerative, as well as a representative of the company Noscira, Miguel Medina, company that is currently developing new drugs for Alzheimer’s disease based on the inhibition of one of the involved enzymes in the hiperfosforilación of the tau protein, which is one of the main alterations associated with this disease.