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PROMISE
Repurposing drugs for the treatment of Alzheimer´s disease
2023 highlights
During 2023, our research focused on modelling the onset and spread of neurodegenerative pathology in advanced neural network models with induced or inherent Alzheimer´s disease pathology. Additionally, we have been investigating the mode of (inter)action and efficacy of repurposed drugs in ameliorating pathological hallmarks of Alzheimer´s in these models.
Relevant highlights from 2023 include a signed collaborative and commercialisation agreement with a major US pharmaceutical company, the award of an NTNU Discovery grant in support of this project, as well as the CHORAFAS Prize awarded to our previous PhD student and current postdoc, Christiana Bjørkli, for her PhD thesis.
For us, the added value of being part of a transdisciplinary centre is the interaction with a wider community and the opportunity to participate in a range of events and activities, including high-quality courses for early career researchers.
Project overview
Project lead: Ioanna Sandvig
Institution: Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU)
Funding: NTNU Health Sustainability
Duration: 01.03.2023 - 28.02.2025
Publications
PROMISE utilises latest findings from our research group strongly supporting the efficacy of two repurposed drugs used in combination, in attenuating Amyloid beta and tau pathology and in promoting memory function in a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease (AD).
The overarching aim of PROMISE is to help unravel the exact mechanism underlying the synergistic effect of these drugs in attenuating AD pathology. The primary objectives are: (i) Determine cellular and neural network responses induced by the combined administration of the two drugs in our advanced cellular models of AD using rodent- and human AD patient- derived neural networks, and (ii) Apply computational models, including deep learning, to correlate the findings from (i) with findings from relevant electrophysiology data to decode and/or predict optimal network response and time window for intervention. Secondary objectives include (a) refinement of optimal time/mode of drug administration with a view to further in vivo testing in AD mouse models, based on findings from PROMISE, (b) collection of complementary data in support of ongoing and planned clinical research activities under the umbrella of the Clinical-Academic Group for AD and JPND for Neurodegenerative Disease, and (c) preliminary assessment of potential relevance of the drugs for the treatment of other neurodegenerative diseases.