new drug improves motor skills and dementia symptoms
 

found this in my email today--anyone heard about/read about this before??have no idea the requirements for drug development to marketing in new zealand....
Neuren NNZ-2591 proves effective at reversing memory loss



Bangalore, Oct 16, 2006: Australia-based Neuren Pharmaceuticals Ltd’s third lead candidate from its diketopiperazine (DKP) family, NNZ-2591, has reported positive preclinical effects of improved learning and memory after oral dosing. Memory was improved to pre-injury levels (100 percent), a statistically significant effect.

The results suggest that NNZ-2591 has the capacity to improve learning and memory processes after short-term treatment. The new data extends the potential application of NNZ-2591 as a treatment for dementias such as those associated with over 50 percent of Parkinson’s disease patients.

This is a much less competitive market when compared to the many drug therapies that are available for the treatment of the loss of motor skills associated with the Parkinson’s disease.

Improvements were observed as early as two days after initial treatment and were observed throughout the four-day study. NNZ-2591 was administered as an oral dose to the animals in each test, further supporting the development of this drug as an oral treatment for chronic disorders.

In addition results for NNZ-2591 in aged animals showed an improvement in aged related memory loss, often associated with the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. In the aged model, besides the improvement in recognition and memory, histology (analysis of brain cells) also showed an improvement in the connections between neurons (synaptic improvement).

This indicates the potentially wide applicability of NNZ-2591 across a range of conditions. Previous studies have shown that NNZ-2591 is effective at improving the motor skills impairment seen in an experimental model of Parkinson’s disease and also showed that the drug produced a long-term benefit in this model of the disease, rather than just temporary symptomatic relief.

A drug capable of reducing the loss of motor skills and dementia symptoms directly meets the important needs of late-stage Parkinson’s disease patients.

Neuren intends to accelerate development of NNZ-2591 as a clinical candidate for treatment of Parkinson’s disease dementia. Further studies will assess the breadth of effect of NNZ-2591 on learning and memory processes to fully evaluate its potential for the treatment of other dementias, including Alzheimer’s disease.

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