[Animals] Study: Sea anemones may fight Alzheimer's

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Russian scientists say sea anemones contain chemical compounds that can slow the process of inflammation and the deterioration of nerve cells that cause the development of Alzheimer's disease.

This came in a study conducted by researchers at the Eastern Federal University of Russia, and published their results in the latest issue of the "Russian Journal of Bioorganic Chemistry".   

 

Anemones are poisonous mollusc marine animals with a flower-like shape, and they have many poisonous tentacles, and they live at depths not exceeding 50 meters below the surface of the water, and they live in warm waters, and the age of these animals can reach nearly 50 years.

The researchers explained that anemones contain "peptides", which are chemical compounds consisting of amino acids with high physiological activity, allowing them to regulate various biological processes.

The team collected anemones near the Seychelles islands in Africa during a scientific marine expedition, extracted from them a group of peptides, and conducted in vitro research on a group of rat neurons, and found that peptides extracted from anemones contain therapeutic properties that prevent the destruction and deterioration of neurons by stopping the development of infections.

The team noted that Alzheimer's patients usually suffer from various neurological disorders, including confusion and memory loss, so the peptides were tested on neuroblastoma cells of mice, and found that they succeeded in reducing neuronal damage.

Additional studies
Lead researcher Dr. Elena Lechenko said that anemones contain a wide range of biological substances that not only have neuroprotective properties, but are also anti-cancer.

But she explained that these biological compounds require additional studies, as it is not possible to start manufacturing new drugs from them until after all stages of scientific experiments are completed, before reaching clinical trials in humans, and this will take three to five years.

It is noteworthy that Alzheimer's disease is the most common form of dementia, and leads to continuous deterioration in thinking abilities, brain function and memory loss. The disease progresses gradually to the loss of the ability to carry out daily activities and to communicate with the environment, and the condition may deteriorate to the point of lack of functional performance.

According to a 2016 American Alzheimer's Association report, the disease affects about 47 million people worldwide, and costs the world's health care systems more than $818 billion.  

 

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