According to the statement, the proposed treatment for one of the most common and destructive neurodegenerative diseases in the world is through the regulation of calcium in brain cells.

Scientists report that with Alzheimer’s, harmful substances accumulate in the brain: beta-amyloid, which forms plaques, and tau protein, which twists. All of this interferes with the normal functioning of nerve cells, disrupts the connections between them, and gradually leads to the deterioration of memory and thinking.

Modern therapeutic approaches are primarily associated with attempts to remove these plaques from the brain, but in practice, they do not show the necessary effectiveness.

For this reason, PPU researchers focused on another fundamental problem associated with Alzheimer’s disease: the imbalance of calcium ions in neurons. Calcium plays a key role in nerve cell signaling. Normally, its concentration within the cell is tightly controlled.

Their attention focused on the intracellular pump SERCA, responsible for pumping excess calcium into special stores. The hypothesis was that enhancing the pump’s function with the compound NDC-9009 could protect neurons from calcium stress.

The results point out that SERCA pump modulators, and in particular the compound NDC-9009, open a promising new avenue in the search for therapies for Alzheimer’s disease.

According to the World Health Organization, 57 million people worldwide suffer from dementia, with Alzheimer’s accounting for 60 to 70% of all cases.

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