PharmaKure partners with Sheffield Hallam University to develop epigenetic markers for Alzheimer’s disease prediction

PharmaKure, a clinical stage pharmaceutical company developing precision medicines for Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) and other neurodegenerative diseases, today announces a new epigenetics collaboration with Sheffield Hallam University. This partnership will focus on ‘gene-based environmental biomarkers’, known as epigenetic markers, for calculating risk scores for Alzheimer’s diseases. Together with ALZmetrixTM, PharmaKure’s blood-based biomarker, this will increase the power of current Alzheimer’s diagnostics.

Image Credit: PharmaKure

The collaborative study between Sheffield Hallam University and Pharmakure aims to gain a better understanding of Alzheimer's Disease (AD) in order to identify those more at risk of developing the disease, so enabling the provision of appropriate interventions much earlier in the disease pathology.

Professor Gavin Reynolds, Biomolecular Sciences Research Centre, Sheffield Hallam University, explained, “We have been working on the relationship of environmental stresses with respect to brain diseases.” Professor Reynolds has published over 300 papers on the pathology of neurotransmitter systems involved in psychiatric disorders and now focuses on epigenetics effects in neuro diseases. “Our genes are coded in our DNA, but epigenetics looks at how the cell turns genes on and off according to different environmental exposure, such as the aging process, stress, trauma etc. We want to identify abnormal epigenetic changes associated with brain diseases, and these changes may be modifiable with medications.”

Dr Helene Fachim, Neuroscientist, PharmaKure, said, “Mental health and the environment can both contribute to the development of brain diseases. Influences, such as trauma and chronic stress, can bring about epigenetic changes to DNA that may result in a range of psychiatric and neurological disorders. We are therefore looking for epigenetic factors that are specifically related to Alzheimer’s Disease.”

“We would like to use these epigenetic approaches for a better understanding of AD, so that we can stratify a person’s risk of developing it. Then, we could act in preventive ways, or administer AD drugs earlier in life when they are more effective.”

AD is a multifactorial disease, and it is known that environmental factors can make an important contribution to triggering it. The study’s main hypothesis is that there is differential methylation in certain target genes related to AD compared to non-AD controls. If this hypothesis proves to be true, Pharmakure can start the validation of an epigenetic predictive risk score for cognitive impairment and AD.

We are very positive and excited about this new epigenetics collaboration, and we believe that bringing together academia and industry is the best way to achieve our goals. We are looking forward to sharing important results in the near future.”

Dr. Farid Khan, CEO, PharmaKure

Source:

Comments

The opinions expressed here are the views of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of News Medical.
Post a new comment
Post

While we only use edited and approved content for Azthena answers, it may on occasions provide incorrect responses. Please confirm any data provided with the related suppliers or authors. We do not provide medical advice, if you search for medical information you must always consult a medical professional before acting on any information provided.

Your questions, but not your email details will be shared with OpenAI and retained for 30 days in accordance with their privacy principles.

Please do not ask questions that use sensitive or confidential information.

Read the full Terms & Conditions.

You might also like...
Cannabis use linked to thinning cerebral cortex in adolescents