January 16, 2019

expert reaction to study in mice looking at the potential of an experimental stroke drug as a possible Alzheimer’s drug

Research published in The Journal of Experimental Medicine demonstrates that 3K3A-APC, an experimental drug being developed for stroke patients, may also have potential as a drug treatment for Alzheimer’s disease.

Professor Tara Spires-Jones, Professor of Neurodegeneration, UK Dementia Research Institute Programme Lead, Deputy Director of the Centre for Discovery Brain Sciences; University of Edinburgh, said:

“Dr Zlokovic and his team published a very encouraging paper showing that a drug called 3K3A-APC prevents Alzheimer’s-like symptoms in a mouse model of disease.  It is important to remember that in the past many drugs which have similarly beneficial effects in mouse models did not lead to improvements in people living with Alzheimer’s disease.  However, these experiments do open a promising avenue of future research into treatments to prevent Alzheimer’s disease.”

Dr Sara Imarisio, Head of Research at Alzheimer’s Research UK, said:

“Having had no new dementia treatments in over 15 years it’s important we continue to look at a number of angles to find a life-changing treatment for people with the condition.  Amyloid remains one of the key targets for drug developers, however this is an early stage research study using a drug that is not yet licensed for use in people who have had a stroke.

“As with any research in mice we must be careful how we analyse the results and much more work is required before a drug like this could be to be repurposed for use in people with Alzheimer’s or any other neurodegenerative disease.”

‘3K3A-activated protein C blocks amyloidogenic BACE1 pathway and improves functional outcome in mice’ Lazicby et al. was published in Journal of Experimental Medicine on Tuesday 15th January.

Declared interests

None received.