According to American scientists, a synthetic composite that is a distant chemical relative of a component of curcumin - a spice used for producing curry - demonstrates promise against an inherited neurodegenerative condition known as Kennedy’s disease.
The illness, that strikes only men, resembles a slowly progressive form of Lou Gehrig’s illness. The treatment for Kennedy’s disease does not exist, which results from a mutant gene.
The group of scientists from the University of Rochester discovered that ASC-J9, a synthetic chemical compound loosely based on a component of curcumin, noticeably reduced the progression of Kennedy’s disease in mice with the mutant human gene that leads to the disease.
After the therapy with ASC-J9, the mice demonstrated improved muscle strength, were able to walk much more normally and had near-normal levels of a molecule that keeps nerve cells healthy.
The results of the research were published in the March issue of the journal Nature Medicine.
Whereas ASC-J9 shows promise, much more study needs to be conducted in order to find out if ASC-J9 can be developed into a medication to help patients suffering Kennedy’s disease.
