Discovery that a dual-action screen (genomic/non-genomic) identifies retinoic acid receptor ligands of highest neurotrophic potency

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The number of people in the UK suffering from diseases that accelerate the deterioration of the brain has shown a dramatic increase in recent years, with our ageing population and increasing life expectancy; however, there is a desperate lack of effective drugs to treat these diseases, which include Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. The retinoic acid receptor is a promising protective target for these diseases; this neuroprotective action is activated when the receptor binds a small lipid called a retinoid. We have discovered a new means for designing and identifying retinoids that switch on the receptor in a way that best maximises its protective action. We will develop new retinoids for their capacity to treat the damaging changes associated with Alzheimer's. We will form a company which will further develop and evaluate these compounds, to the stage that they can be licensed to pharma and taken into clinical trials, for the treatment of Alzheimer's and other neurodegenerative diseases.