Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, two neurodegenerative diseases still seeking therapy. News comes from the front of the possibility of early dagnosis. A new diagnosis system was developed thanks to a study conducted by the Istituto Superiore di Sanità, IRCCS San Raffaele Rome and the CNR-Institute of Translational Pharmacology. A low-cost and minimally invasive method.
Alzheimer’s, when is the diagnosis in a drop of blood?
by Letizia Gabaglio
It is based on the direct chemical conversion of patient skin fibroblasts into human neurons, without resorting to transgenic approaches, both for the search for new key bio-markers, but also for testing therapeutic strategies.
The study, published inInternational Journal of Molecular Sciences, represents a development of the genetic reprogramming technology proposed by the Nobel laureate Shin’ya Yamanaka of Kyoto for the generation of reprogrammed stem cells (iPs), ie artificially ‘rejuvenated’ and brought back to a stem-like stage. This time, however, the cells do not rejuvenate, but are transformed. Not only. This protocol avoids the rejuvenation of fibroblasts and, therefore, the loss of the epigenetic characteristics acquired with age. This is why it can be immediately used in pilot studies for the diagnosis of neurodegenerative diseases.
Thus the sleep-wake rhythms control the anti-Alzheimer’s cells
by Donatella Zorzetto
The work was coordinated by Daniela Merlofirst researcher of the Istituto Superiore di Sanità and from Enrico Garaci e Massimo Finirespectively president of the Scientific Committee of IRCCS San Raffaele and Scientific Director of IRCCS San Raffaele, in collaboration with the research group of Christian Mollinariresearcher at the CNR Institute of Translational Pharmacology.
The firm also made use of the collaboration with the ShanghaiTech University of Shanghai thanks to a project funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and by the ISS. “Chemically induced neurons – explains Mollinari – can be generated from the patient’s somatic cells and represent an in vitro model, reproducible in a relatively short time, for the study of pathogenetic mechanisms of neurological diseases”. “Furthermore, the model is perfect for testing therapeutic strategies and personalized medicine studies”, conclude Fini and Garaci.