Treats depression, brain damage and even Alzheimer's: scientists have developed an incredible drug

The new drug can stop depression, anxiety, as well as help with traumatic brain injuries and cognitive disorders. What is this drug and how does it work? sciencedaily.

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Acts by inhibiting Cdk5 kinase

Cdk5 kinase has long been associated with neuropsychiatric and neurodegenerative disorders, but previous inhibitors for the most part could not cross the blood-brain barrier and enter the brain.

The new drug, reported by Dr. James Bibb and colleagues, has the potential to fight depression, brain injury and cognitive impairment. The drug is known for penetrating the brain and works by inhibiting the enzyme Cdk5 kinase.

Cdk5 is an important regulator of signaling in brain neurons. Over three decades of research, it has been linked to neuropsychiatric and degenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.

Turning off the enzyme in mice makes them more resilient to stress, improves cognitive function, protects neurons from stroke and brain injury, and slows down neurodegeneration.

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So far, no Cdk5 inhibitor has been approved for the treatment of any neuropsychiatric or degenerative conditions.

25-106

Bibb and colleagues have given details of their anti-Cdk5 brain-penetrating compound, 25-106. They also reported that systemic administration of 25-106 altered neurobehavior in mice to reduce anxiety.

"As perhaps the first reliable systemic inhibitor of 25-106, it represents an exciting tool to study the function of Cdk5 activity in animals," said Bibb, a professor at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). “Achieving systemic applicability can be considered a step forward towards testing Cdk5 inhibitors for the treatment of neuropsychiatric and neurodegenerative diseases. This opens up promising prospects for future research on stress, anxiety, depression, addiction, cancer, and neurodegeneration.”

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25-106 inhibits Cdk5 activity in a dose-dependent manner, it enters the brain after systemic administration to mice. The scientists measured the pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic parameters of 25-106 in the blood plasma and brain of mice, as well as the off-target distribution of 25-106 in the liver and kidneys.

The scientists found that 25-106 is a non-selective inhibitor of both Cdk5 and another cyclin-dependent kinase, Cdk2. Very low levels of Cdk2 are found in the brain. However, any off-target or toxic effects of systemic Cdk2 inhibition by 25-106 remain unknown.

This is a preclinical drug, it is under development and has only been tested in mice. There is still a lot of work ahead, but scientists believe that even these results are already a breakthrough.

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