Nov. 15 – The average life span has increased but it has a price: it’s called Alzheimer’s disease, and in thirty years there have been more than 3 million cases in Italy alone. 46% of doctors say that the disease is misunderstood and underestimated given the absence of specific and final tests. Alzheimer’s disease is slow, painful and bitter; patients need uninterrupted care and assistance, and a sense of inadequacy, fear and anxiety often accompany those who are close to the person suffering from the disease. There is hope, however, and it comes from Modena. Preclinical studies conducted by researchers at the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia give new hope to potential treatment procedures. The research, coordinated by prof. Salvatore Guarini, Professor of Pharmacology at the Department of Biomedical Metabolic and Neuroscience Sciences, shows that hydrogen sulfide and melanocortins are able to slow the progression of Alzheimer’s disease. Alzheimer’s disease is the most common cause of dementia, and without effective treatment, one of the major causes of disability. Alzheimer’s disease is usually diagnosed after the age of 65, while the less known form of the disease, known as family or genetic Alzheimer’s, can occur much earlier. Guarini’s research made it possible to identify the main molecular mechanisms of these neuroprotective effects. Guarini was assisted by Dr. Daniela Giuliani, Dr. Alessandra Octane, Dr. Maria Galantucci, Dr. Laura Neri, Dr. Fabrizio Canalini and Dr Anita Calevro. Prof. David Zaffe, Professor of Human Anatomy in the same Department, also gave an essential contribution Neurobiology of Learning and Memory and Neurobiology of Aging were some of the most prestigious magazines that published the results, reflecting the interest of the international scientific community for the results’ originality and the methodological rigor of the research.
