viernes, julio 28, 2006

Ampakinas revierten perdida de memoria

Drug triggers body's mechanism to reverse aging effect on memory process

A drug made to enhance memory appears to trigger a natural mechanism in the
brain that fully reverses age-related memory loss
, even after the drug
itself has left the body, according to researchers at UC Irvine.

Professors Christine Gall and Gary Lynch, along with Associate Researcher
Julie Lauterborn, were among a group of scientists who conducted studies on
rats with a class of drugs known as ampakines. Ampakines were developed in
the early 1990s by UC researchers, including Lynch, to treat age-related
memory impairment and may be useful for treating a number of central
nervous system disorders, such as Alzheimer�s disease and schizophrenia. In
this study, the researchers showed that ampakine drugs continue to reverse
the effects of aging on a brain mechanism thought to underlie learning and
memory even after they are no longer in the body
. They do so by boosting
the production of a naturally occurring protein in the brain necessary for
long-term memory formation
.

The study appears in the August issue of the Journal of Neurophysiology.

This is a significant discovery,� said Gall, professor of anatomy and
neurobiology. �Our results indicate the exciting possibility that ampakines
could be used to treat learning and memory loss associated with normal aging.�

ver nota