Anti-inflammatory drug may block brain plaques in Alzheimer's patients
25 Jun 2008, 1453 Hrs

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Washington, June 25 (ANI): A new study led by German and American researchers has revealed that an anti-inflammatory drug can block brain plaques in patients with Alzheimer's disease.

Alzheimer's is the most common cause of dementia leading to long-term memory loss confusion, anger, mood swings, language breakdown etc.

Previous studies had shown that preventing individual amyloid beta proteins from sticking to one another minimized brain lesions and protected nerve cells against damage.

The new study showed that an anti-inflammatory drug (called CNI-1493) might help restore brain function in Alzheimer's patients with the same effect.

The study conducted using mice with an Alzheimer's-like disease found that the drug decreased brain inflammation and improved memory and cognitive function. Though anti-inflammatory drugs, such as ibuprofen, have been shown to reduce Alzheimer's disease lesions in the brains of rodents, but CNI-1493 appears to be faster and more effective

If these study showed positive results in humans, then CNI-1493 may provide a more effective alternative to current Alzheimer's therapies, which temporarily prolong the function of nerve cells but do not prevent their destruction.

The study appears in Journal of Experimental Medicine. (ANI)