April 23, 1999 – In a presentation made at a meeting of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology held in Washington, DC, Mr. Alan Snow, professor of biology at the University of Washington in Seattle, introduced the results of a laboratory study showing that cat’s claw (Uncaria tomentosa) has a potential for action against Alzheimer’s disease.
Cat’s claw, an Amazon plant used primarily for its immunostimulatory and anti-inflammatory properties, prevented the deposition of beta-amyloid plaques in the brains of rats. In Alzheimer’s disease, the beta-amyloid protein is deposited in plaques in the brain as the brain cells form stringy clumps. Another protein, called tau, is also involved in the disease, but its exact role is unknown.
Professor Snow and his colleagues at ProteoTech Inc. experimented with a cat’s claw compound they named PTI-00703. They also mixed this compound with other plants, including Ginkgo biloba, rosemary, and gotu kola. Study results in vitro have shown that this mixture works even better than cat’s claw alone, at least in test tubes.
The company ProteoTech hopes to be able to begin a study soon in people with mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease.
HealthPassport.net
According to Reuters Health Information Services, April 20, 1999
