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OwnerGerard Nuovoinventor
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Diagnostic and therapeutic methods for neurodegenerative diseases. Are provided involving assaying abnormal proteins (hyperphosphorylated tau, α-synuclein, TDP-43) associated with neuronal turnover inhibition or promotion in patient samples. Abnormal protein expression and apoptotic activity are detected, aiding disease progression assessment. Therapeutically, a method is provided for treating neurodegenerative diseases, administering compounds promoting neuronal turnover or modulating proteins involved in the process. The invention extends to identifying suitable drugs, employing neuronal turnover induction, miRNA modulation, and protein activity inhibition or enhancement. The claims also encompass various species, tissues, and cultured cells. Furthermore, the invention is applicable to diverse neurodegenerative diseases with abnormal protein accumulation, presenting novel diagnostic and treatment approaches.
A diagnostic method of assaying any neurodegenerative disease that includes either hyperphosphorylated tau protein (aka neurofibrillary tangles), α-synuclein (aka Lewy bodies), or TDP-43, or a combination thereof in a patient comprising one or more of testing the patient including but not limited to brain tissue, CSF, and blood, for expression of the relevant abnormal protein.
A method for treating neurodegenerative disease in a patient diagnosed with AD, CBD, CTE, PD, LBD, FTD, ALS and related diseases comprising administering a neuronal turnover-inducing drug/compound/biologic in a pharmaceutically effective amount.
The method of claim 4, wherein the drug/compound/biologic include small molecules already approved for other diseases as well as monoclonal antibodies capable of either blocking bcl2, bclW, bclXL, cFLIP, and/or MCL1 or equivalent proteins/mRNAs or enhancing the action of proteins/mRNAs that can induce the dysfunctional neurons to enter the neuronal turnover pathway.
A method for surveying patients comprising assays for identifying patients that exhibit inhibition of neuronal cell turnover relating to increased expression by proteins/mRNAs including but not limited to bcl2, bclW, bclXL, cFLIP and MCL-1 plus other members of the bcl2 family as well as proteins/mRNAs that often accompany and block these anti-neuronal turnover molecules including but not limited to BAD, BIM, NOXA, PUMA, BAK, BAX, p53, and p16.
A method of identifying drugs useful in the therapy of neurodegenerative disease comprising selecting drugs with one or more of the activities comprising neuronal cell turnover induction, increase miRNA 512 activity, inhibit bcl2, bclW, bclXL, cFLIP, and/or MCL-1 activity, modulating bcl2 family member activity, modulating importin/exportin family member activity.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.