March 9, 2013

Rush Scientists Identify Buphenyl as a Possible Drug for Alzheimer’s disease




Buphenyl, an FDA-approved medication for hyperammonemia, may protect memory and prevent the progression of Alzheimer’s disease.  Hyperammonemia is a life-threatening condition that can affect patients at any age.  It is caused by abnormal, high levels of ammonia in the blood.

Studies in mice with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) have shown that sodium phenylbutyrate, known as Buphenyl, successfully increases factors for neuronal growth and protects learning and memory, according to neurological researchers at the Rush University Medical Center.

Results from the National Institutes of Health funded study, recently were published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry.