Thursday, August 04, 2005
Target: Quinolinic Acid
The battle against Alzheimer's may have a new target: quinolinic acid (QUIN), a neurotoxin known to be elevated in inflammatory neurological diseases. A paper published this week indicates that the kynurenine pathway, of which QUIN is a byproduct, is also upregulated in the hippocampus of Alzheimer's patients.
Inhibition of the kynurenine pathway has already been demonstrated effective in decreasing neurotoxicity in AIDS dementia, and there is hope that new treatments using this system could be developed relatively quickly.
Inhibition of the kynurenine pathway has already been demonstrated effective in decreasing neurotoxicity in AIDS dementia, and there is hope that new treatments using this system could be developed relatively quickly.
