Edinburgh scientists make memory breakthrough

Researchers at the University of Edinburgh have created a new compound that may slow down age-related memory loss.

The new synthetic compound was found to block a specific enzyme known as 11beta-HSD and thereby inhibit memory loss in mice within just 10 days. Researchers are now hopeful that the same effects will occur for humans.

The scientists have been researching the 11beta-HSD enzyme for over 15 years. Studies have shown that memory loss in the elderly is linked to high levels of the stress hormone glucocorticoid, which the enzyme helps to produce. Its presence in the body increases with age.

The study, which measured the ability of the ageing mice to complete a memory task called the Ymaze, has been published in the Journal of Neuroscience. Professor Jonathan Seckl from the University of Edinburgh, who discovered the importance of the 11beta-HSD1 enzyme, confirmed the significance of the findings.

“About a third of us will get memory loss with ageing and it can be very disabling, too, so that is a fair impact if, and it remains a big if, this works in humans as well as in mice", he said.

The study was backed by the Wellcome Trust and the Medical Research Council (MRC). This particular programme was supported by a Seeding Drug Discovery award from the Wellcome Trust.

Leading the drug development programme are Professor Brian Walker and Dr Scott Webster from the University of Edinburgh. Professor Walker of Endocrinology, told The Journal: "The next step is to conduct further studies with our preclinical candidate to prove that the compound is safe to take into clinical trials, hopefully within a year."

Professor Seckl noted that as of yet, they had found no concerning side effects in their latest study, which is a huge step in the right direction and could see a new drug for mild memory impairments in the near future.