Novel Target for Alzheimer’s Therapy

Emerging data suggests that histone deacetylases (HDACs) – signaling enzymes that affect gene expression – may be promising therapeutic targets for neurological and psychiatric disorders that impact cognitive ability.  In a lab animal model, Gavin Rumbaugh, from The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI; Florida, USA) and colleagues utilized an HDAC inhibitor to attack multiple forms of Class 1 HDACs thought to be involved in memory loss.  The team observed that the HDAC inhibitor promoted the growth of new synapses (synaptogenesis).  However, memory was not enhanced in normal animals by chronic pretreatment with multiple HDAC inhibitors, suggesting a diseased brain responds to these compounds differently than a healthy brain.