Sharjah University Scientists Join Global Efforts to...

UAE AMONG COUNTRIES WITH HIGHEST CONCENTRATION AND INCIDENCE OF KILLER DISEASE

The University of Sharjah (UoS) has joined international efforts to find a cure for the global killer called Alzheimer's disease, according to Professor Dr Taleb H Al-Tel of the College of Pharmacy, University of Sharjah. The disease has so far frustrated all efforts to find a cure. There is no cure for Alzheimer's disease so far; only treatment and care. Existing medicines may help alleviate some of the suffering and symptoms but they often lead to side effects and more complications, explained the scientist.

Delivering a lecture on the Mystery of Alzheimer's Disease' at the UAE Innovation Week in Sharjah, being held from November 20 to 26 at Expo Centre Sharjah, Dr Al-Tel said that the disease has emerged as a huge challenge to the medical and scientific community around the world as providing care to such patients is proving to be a mammoth burden for governments around the world including in the UAE. Such patients need constant 24/7 care and monitoring, he added.

The United States spends around $148 billion while Europe spends $120 billion annually to provide healthcare to Alzheimer's patients.

The UAE is one of the few countries in the region which account for highest incidence and concentration of the disease. Out of a population of 100,000 people, at least 121 people are affected by Alzheimer's in the country. This is a huge burden on healthcare providers as well as the exchequer, said Dr Al-Tel.

This is why drug companies have been working overtime in the West and in countries like Japan for years and decades to find the much needed cure, he said.

Dr Al-Tel said that the team of scientists at the UoS has been engaged in its own efforts on this front. Chemical compounds that could combat the cells responsible for Alzheimers disease as well as breast cancer have been discovered in a groundbreaking research project by the UoS scientists.

Two separate three-year studies conducted by the University of Sharjah, the Sharjah Medical Research Institute and the Sharjah Academy for Scientific Research have found 15 compounds that have the potential to fight cells that cause Alzheimers and three compounds that could combat cells responsible for the progression of breast cancer. The results have even been picked up by international medical journals, including the American Journal of Medicinal Chemistry.

The research methodology involves identifying the enzymes that cause the disease, then using a sophisticated computer program to test the potential success of chemical compounds. However, as the compounds progress from laboratory to clinical trials, there are a number of obstacles that researchers must be prepared for, particularly when it comes to a disease like Alzheimers.

If you can inhibit beta secretes enzymes, you can cure Alzheimer's he explained. Although the disease was discovered in 1906, its pathology was only understood in the 90s, Dr Al Tel said. And since then, most of the drug companies and institutions around the world have been facing this challenge.

He said it could be some years before a successful cure can be developed and made it available for human consumption.

As part of the UAE Innovation Week in Sharjah, Expo Centre Sharjah has been hosting scores of presentations, workshops and lectures by renowned scientists, academics and experts.

All the activities of the UAE Innovation Week in Sharjah are open to members of public and media. The exhibition hall of Expo Centre Sharjah has been divided into six sections with innovative names denoting a scientific spirit.

The week-long festival of ideas at the Expo Centre Sharjah brings together hundreds of experts, innovators and academics representing public and private sector organisations, universities and government bodies and features more than 110 activities including, workshops, exhibitions, debates and skits.

LINK:	http://www.sharjahmedia.ae/en/media-centre/news/24/11/2016/sharjah-uni...
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