Anavex Life Sciences has published a comprehensive review of the pharmacology of sigma receptors and their possible clinical application in the Journal of Pharmacology and Therapeutics.
The paper provides insight into sigma-1 receptors and their potential ability to alter the course of Alzheimer's disease, other CNS conditions and cancer.
In the review, scientists Dr Tangui Maurice and Dr Tsung-Ping Su emphasise that sigma-1 receptors effect the modulation of various ion channels, including calcium, potassium, sodium and chloride ions, which allow atoms to enter or leave a cell and change its behaviour.
Further work may show the impact on mitochondria, a cell's principal energy source.
Dysfunction in the mitochondria is a known contributor to neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's and a range of other diseases.
Anavex believes that mitochondrial dysfunction can be modified using sigma receptors to guard against oxidative stress, which damages and destroys neurons and is believed to be a primary cause of Alzheimer's disease.
The company's lead compound for Alzheimer's disease, Anavex 2-73, is being prepared to enter clinical trials in 2010.
Anavex 2-73 is a selective sigma-1 receptor agonist and has demonstrated potent neuroprotective, anti-amnesic, anti-convulsive and anti-depressive activity in pre-clinical studies.
