Screen Finds an Antidepressant and Other Drugs That Might Work Against Prion Diseases
Wednesday, September 14, 2011 - 10:30
in Health & Medicine
In a new study NYU School of Medicine researchers report that they have found several chemical compounds, including an antidepressant, that have powerful effects against brain-destroying prion infections in mice, opening the door to potential treatments for human prion diseases. The drugs trimipramine and fluphenazine used to treat antidepressants are already in clinical use and doctors can test them in human patients with Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, the most common human prion disease.