A type of drug developed for treating cancer holds promise as a new treatment for neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's, according to a recent study by researchers at Penn State, Stanford University and an international team of collaborators. The researchers discovered that by blocking a specific enzyme called indoleamine-2,3-dioxygenase 1, or IDO1 for short, they could rescue memory and brain function in models that mimic Alzheimer's disease. The findings, published today (Aug.
22) in the journal Science, suggest that IDO1 inhibitors currently being developed as a treatment for many types of cancer, including melanoma , leukemia and breast cancer, could be repurposed to treat the early stages of neurodegenerative diseases -; a first for the chronic conditions that lack preventative treatments. "We're showing that there is high potential for IDO1 inhibitors, which are already within the repertoire of drugs being developed for cancer treatments, to target and treat Alzheimer's," said Melanie McReynolds, the Dorothy Foehr Huck and J. Lloyd Huck Early Career Chair in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at Penn State and co-author on the paper.
"In the broader context of aging, neurological decline is one of the biggest co-factors of being unable to age healthier. The benefits of understanding and treating metabolic decline in neurological disorders will impact not just those who are diagnosed, but our families, our society, our entire economy." Alzheimer's disease is the.