muscarinic allosteric modulators

M1 muscarinic allosteric modulators slow prion neurodegeneration
and restore memory loss, Andrew B. Tobin et al.,
Journal of Clinical Investigation, doi:10.1172/JCI87526, published 19 December 2016.

Breakthrough findings demonstrate a possible target
and potential drug treatment to restore memory loss
and extend life span in mice with neurodegeneration.

An international team of scientists has announced a new advance in the fight
against Alzheimer's disease by identifying a new drug target for not only
improving symptoms of brain degeneration - but also to extend the life-span
of the terminally ill mice.

The four-year study by Medical Research Council (MRC) scientists based at the
MRC Toxicology Unit at the University of Leicester is published in the
Journal of Clinical Investigation. The study was led by Professor Andrew Tobin
alongside colleagues from pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly and Company
and the Monash Institute for Pharmaceutical Sciences in Australia. The project
was also partly supported by the Wellcome Trust.

Corresponding author Professor Tobin, who alongside the lead researcher
Dr Sophie Bradley has since moved from the University of Leicester to the
University of Glasgow, said: "The paper describes drug-like molecules that
can restore memory loss and slow progression of prion neurodegenerative
disease in a manner that relates to the potential of these drugs in human
Alzheimer's disease.