A second study, in a different mouse model, has shown that the pharmacological agent rapamycin, which has previously been shown to extend life span in mice, may prevent Alzheimer’s disease in humans. A bacterial product first isolated from the soil on Easter Island, rapamycin is already approved by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration to prevent organ rejection in transplant patients. The first of the two Alzheimer’s studies, was published online on February 23, 2010 in the Journal of Biological Chemistry (A. Caccamo et al.), and showed that rapamycin curbed the effects of Alzheimer’s in one mouse model. The new study, published on April 1 in PLoS ONE, showed similar effects in a completely different mouse model of Alzheimer’s. Both reports came from the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio and collaborating institutions. The second report showed that administration of rapamycin improved learning and memory in a strain of mice engineered to develop Alzheimer's. The improvements in learning and memory were detected in a water maze activity test that is designed to measure learning and spatial memory. The improvements in learning and memory correlated with lower damage in brain tissue. "Rapamycin treatment lowered levels of amyloid-beta-42, a major toxic species of molecules in Alzheimer's disease," said senior author Dr. Veronica Galvan. "These molecules, which stick to each other, are suspected to play a key role in the early memory failure of Alzheimer's."
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