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Need a Memory Boost? Gene Therapy May Help Soon



By Nancy Deutsch

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - We might all like a boost when it comes to being able to remember things. Northwestern researchers believe they have identified one more piece of the puzzle in how memory works, and have so far been able to use this knowledge to help genetically-altered mice remember how to find their way through a maze.

For some time GAP-43, a protein found naturally in the brain, has been implicated in memory, explained Aryeh Routtenberg, lead author of the paper in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. What Routtenberg and his research colleagues discovered is that when they use gene therapy to boost GAP-43 levels in the brains of mice, the animals perform much better on memory tests, he said.

GAP-43 is thought to boost memory by stimulating nerve growth, namely the growth of nerve processes that transmit messages from one nerve to another. This assists communication between brain cells, an essential step in learning and memory.

It may be possible to one day perform gene therapy in humans that would boost GAP-43 levels and improve memory in people with memory disorders, or even those with just normal age-related lack of memory, Routtenberg told Reuters Health. But at this point ``therapy is not yet available.''

``It's one thing to have a five minute massage when you're tense'' and quite another to have an injection into the brain that will help your memory improve when you're feeling a little clueless, he said.

Still, just a short time ago, no one knew we would be this close to gene sequencing, he noted.

At this point, scientists can create mice that have more GAP-43, so they are somewhat more protected against memory loss, but they do not want to go that far with genetic engineering in humans, he added.

One strategy they could conceivably use to help humans is to find a molecule that would cross the blood-brain barrier and deliver a synthetic compound to interact with GAP-43, Routtenberg said. Other factors that appear to enhance GAP-43 activity include estrogen and exercise, Routtenberg said.

What their finding really does, is ``pave the way for drug discovery,'' he said. If a drug could be developed that would make GAP-43 more active in the brain, well, we all might remember everyone's birthday well into our old age, Routtenberg concluded.

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