Sirtuins as therapeutic targets of ALS.

Sirtuins have received a lot of attention in biological functions associated with metabolism, survival development, and most recently, neurodegeneration. The versatile role of sirtuins can be readily redirected for drug discovery studies for novel treatment in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), as presented in this highlight, by sirtuin-mediated ketogenic responses influencing mitochondrial function.

Unintended effects of cardiovascular drugs on the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is rapidly becoming one of the leading causes of disability and mortality in the elderly. As life-expectancy increases, an increasing number of people will rely on modern medicines to treat age-associated disorders. Among these medications, some might benefit, while others might exacerbate, the pathogenesis of AD. We screened 1,600 FDA approved drugs for ß-amyloid (Aß)-modifying activity and identified drugs that can potentially influence amyloid precursor protein processing. In this study, we focused on cardiovascular drugs and demonstrated that some hypertensive medication can differentially modulate Aß, both in vitro and in vivo. Our study suggests that some commonly prescribed drugs might exert unintended effects and modulate AD and provides the basis for continuing investigation of the role of individual drugs on a case-by-case basis. This line of investigation will lead to the identification of common medications that are potentially beneficial or detrimental to AD as a reference for physicians to consider when prescribing the most appropriate drugs for their patients, particularly for treating chronic disorders among the growing geriatric population.