Repeated traumatic mind accidents (TBI) in troopers and navy personnel may cause behavioral, neurological, and cognitive results and result in dementia. There is at the moment no remedy for that kind of dementia, however a $308,000 grant from the United States Department of Defense goals to assist researchers on the University of Tennessee Health Science Center discover one.
TBI can result in the event of frontotemporal degeneration (FTD), a progressive course of marked by atrophy of the frontal and temporal lobes. FTD is likely one of the commonest causes of dementia in individuals below the age of 65.
Principal investigator Mohammad Moshahid Khan, PhD, affiliate professor within the Department of Neurology, and co-investigator Tayebeh Pourmotabbed, PhD, professor within the Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Biochemistry, are engaged on a challenge to search out the primary therapeutic intervention to stop frontotemporal dementia or gradual its development in a mouse mannequin linked with the situation.
The staff is aiming to make use of a novel gene remedy referred to as DNAzymes to focus on pathological tau aggregates, which trigger frontotemporal dementia and its ensuing cognitive impairment and progressive neuropathological signs. The staff is analyzing the efficient dose, frequency, and length of remedy in addition to its potential in lowering neurodegeneration and behavioral deficits in mice.
Our preliminary knowledge recommend that DNAzyme is a novel therapeutic method and has an amazing potential for stopping the buildup of pathological tau. The outcomes of this proposal can be foundational for future research analyzing the scientific use of DNAzyme for different neurological illnesses related to traumatic mind harm and different tauopathies.”
Dr. Mohammad Moshahid Khan, PhD, affiliate professor within the Department of Neurology
“DNAzyme is a robust gene remedy approach that can be utilized to stop manufacturing of proteins related to illnesses, like tau protein in Alzheimer’s illness and dementia,” Dr. Pourmotabbed stated. “We have used DNAzyme as a possible remedy for breast most cancers, glioma, and Huntington’s illness in preclinical animal fashions with nice success. Hopefully, with the usage of DNAzyme expertise, we might have the ability to cut back the chance of dementia after traumatic mind harm in veterans and different people that take care of this debilitating illness.”