Indian discovers drug for Alzheimer's disease

A new drug derived from citrus fruits can help people suffering from Alzheimer's disease to improve their quality of life, claims a researcher of the All Indian Institute of Medical Sciences.

A new drug derived from citrus fruits can help people suffering from Alzheimer's disease to improve their quality of life, claims a researcher of the All Indian Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS).

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Dr Mahaveer Golechha, senior research fellow, department of pharmacology, AIIMS, who discovered the anti-Alzheimer's potential of citrus fruits has been awarded the prestigious Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation's, USA Young Investigator Scholarship Award.

"Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder that generally affects the elderly. Till date the treatment was symptomatic but this new drug will provide work pathologically and have no side effect," Golechha said.

"This drug Naringin is a bioflavonoid. Naringin exerted its effects through multiple mechanisms, like antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-apoptotic. This drug has been discovered from citrus fruits," he said.

This work has been published in the Biological and Pharmaceutical Bulletin, an international journal of Japanese Society of Pharmacology.

Alzheimer's disease is the most common form of disorders that impairs mental functioning. The most common symptom of the disease in the early stages includes difficulty in recalling recently observed events. As the disease advances, it leads to confusion, irritability and aggression, mood swings, language breakdown, long-term memory loss, and the general withdrawal of the sufferer.