IRVINE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 2, 2006 -- University of California, Irvine investigators demonstrate how AMPAKINE drugs boost the brain’s own protein for fighting age-related deficits in memory mechanism. In the August 2006 issue of The Journal of Neurophysiology, Drs. Christine Gall and Gary Lynch and their research staff reported that it was possible to use AMPAKINE compounds to reverse age-related declines in cognitive functions in old rats, returning their cognitive ability to that seen in young rats. The authors attributed this effect to the ability of AMPAKINE drugs to increase endogenous brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in the neurons in the brains of older rats. The study used two of Cortex Pharmaceuticals’ (AMEX: COR) high impact AMPAKINE drugs that are in preclinical development testing at the company. When an antagonist to BDNF was co-administered with the AMPAKINE compounds, the older rats returned to age-related cognitive impairment level.
