The researchers showed that the systemic administration of the new drug alters neurobehavioral
in mice, reducing anxiety-like behavior. It also provides a promising landscape for future studies
to assess whether the drug could help combat stress, anxiety, depression, addiction, cancer, and neurodegeneration.
The preclinical drug works by inhibiting the kinase Cdk5 which is found in mature neurons. Cdk5 has long been linked to neuropsychiatric and neurodegenerative disorders, but prior inhibitors have largely failed to cross the blood-brain barrier and enter the brain.
A new preclinical drug reported by James Bibb, Ph.D., and colleagues has the potential to combat depression, brain injury, and cognitive disorders. The drug, which is notable for being brain-permeable, works by inhibiting the kinase enzyme Cdk5.
Cdk5 is an important signaling regulator in brain neurons. Over three decades of research, it has been linked to neuropsychiatric and degenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. Knocking out the enzyme in mice makes them more resilient to stress, improves cognition, protects neurons from stroke and brain trauma, and slows neurodegeneration.
While Cdk5 inhibitors may offer potential therapeutic benefits and new ways to study basic brain function, previous first- and second-generation anti-Cdk5 compounds largely get blocked at the blood-brain barrier, which restricts solute movement from the blood to the extracellular fluid of the central nervous system. So far, no Cdk5 inhibitor has been authorized for the treatment of any neuropsychiatric or degenerative condition. READ MORE...
A new preclinical drug reported by James Bibb, Ph.D., and colleagues has the potential to combat depression, brain injury, and cognitive disorders. The drug, which is notable for being brain-permeable, works by inhibiting the kinase enzyme Cdk5.
Cdk5 is an important signaling regulator in brain neurons. Over three decades of research, it has been linked to neuropsychiatric and degenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. Knocking out the enzyme in mice makes them more resilient to stress, improves cognition, protects neurons from stroke and brain trauma, and slows neurodegeneration.
While Cdk5 inhibitors may offer potential therapeutic benefits and new ways to study basic brain function, previous first- and second-generation anti-Cdk5 compounds largely get blocked at the blood-brain barrier, which restricts solute movement from the blood to the extracellular fluid of the central nervous system. So far, no Cdk5 inhibitor has been authorized for the treatment of any neuropsychiatric or degenerative condition. READ MORE...
