Andrew Pieper, University of Iowa Health Care (IMAGE)
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Pieper's lab at the University of Iowa Pappajohn Biomedical Institute focuses on the discovery of new treatment options for neuropsychiatric disease using pharmacologic approaches in animal models. New findings by Pieper and colleagues suggest that loss of the CACNA1C gene -- a genetic risk factor for five major psychiatric diseases -- disrupts neurogenesis in the hippocampus by lowering the production of BDNF, an important brain growth factor. The scientists showed that a neuroprotective compound called P7C3-A20 bypasses the BDNF deficit and restores normal neurogenesis in the mice. The study suggests that P7C3-A20, which is currently under development as a potential therapy for neurodegenerative diseases, may have potential for treating CACNA1C-linked psychiatric diseases, including schizophrenia, major depression, bipolar disorder, autism, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
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University of Iowa Health Care
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