Researchers from the MRC’s Toxicology Unit have identified two drugs that restore protein production rates in mice that have either prion disease or frontotemporal dementia (FTD), and which may therefore have potential as dementia treatments in humans. They are trazodone hydrochloride, a licensed antidepressant, and dibenzoylmethane, a compound being trialled as an anti-cancer drug. Both drugs prevented the emergence of signs of brain cell damage in most of the prion-diseased mice and restored memory in the FTD mice. In both mouse models, the drugs reduced brain shrinkage which is a feature of neurodegenerative disease.
The team, based in Leicester, was led by Professor Giovanna Malluci who is now working at the University of Cambridge. She commented on the potential for repurposing trazodone as a dementia drug “We know that trazodone is safe to use in humans, so a clinical trial is now possible to test whether the protective effects of the drug we see on brain cells in mice with neurodegeneration also applies to people in the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias. We could know in 2-3 years whether this approach can slow down disease progression, which would be a very exciting first step in treating these disorders.
“Interestingly, trazodone has been used to treat the symptoms of patients in later stages of dementia, so we know it is safe for this group. We now need to find out whether giving the drug to patients at an early stage could help arrest or slow down the disease through its effects on this pathway.”
Professor Mallucci is one of five associate directors for the new UK Dementia Research Institute, jointly formed by the University of Cambridge alongside the Cardiff University, the University of Edinburgh, Imperial College London and King’s College London.
Read the full article on the University of Cambridge news pages.