Sarah Ford | November 20, 2014

Drug Restores Memory Function in Alzheimer’s Model

Building on earlier work funded by BrightFocus, researchers have discovered a promising new drug compound that reverses some

Alzheimer’s effects on memory in mice. 

Four years ago, a research team led by BrightFocus grantee and Nobel Laureate Dr. Paul Greengard established the connection between increased striatal-enriched tyrosine phosphatase (STEP) levels and Alzheimer’s changes in mice, and showed that removing STEP had the effect of restoring synaptic connections. 

Since their discovery of STEP, this research team has been searching for a drug that would block its damaging effects on brain synapses. They focused their efforts on finding a STEP inhibitor, studying thousands of small molecules in their quest. 

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