Marie Lou Camara
University of Queensland
Australia
A novel approach to enhance cognitive function and promote synaptic plasticity
Alzheimer's Australia Dementia Research Foundation
34,196
01/01/2015
1
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a severe burden on the Australian health care system and affects about 30% of the population over 65 years of age. While we have made significant advances in understanding the mechanisms of AD pathology, we are yet to develop an effective therapeutic that tackles not only the issues of memory loss but also the underlying brain neurodegeneration, such as the degeneration of the basal forebrain cholinergic neurons. Our lab has generated a cell permeable peptide (c29) that enhances the signalling potential of the low reserves of growth factors, a feature of the brains of people with AD, as well as promoting neuronal survival. This project will make new versions of the c29 peptide to improve its drug-like properties and will test the ability of c29 to enhance cognitive functioning in mice, with the aim of demonstrating the promise of this molecule as a therapeutic to treat AD.
https://www.dementiaresearchfoundation.org.au/researchers/marie-lou-camara