In a statement, the University of Porto institute clarified today that the research, published in the journal Cell Death & Disease, opens "the way for new therapies" for neurological diseases, such as Lewy body dementia and Parkinson's disease dementia. Lewy body dementia is the "third most common type" of dementia and Parkinson's disease dementia affects about 80% of patients. Both are characterized by the formation in the brain of "abnormal rounded deposits of a protein called synuclein". In order to develop therapies that act on synuclein accumulations, the researchers studied its effect on the hippocampus, a brain area that regulates learning and memory, factors that are compromised in dementia. In collaboration with the Portuguese Brain Bank of the Santo António University Hospital Centre, the researchers analysed samples from people with dementia and concluded that "a specific receptor appears increased in these diseases". This receptor "is involved in synapse dysfunction and memory loss", explains the leader of the research, Márcia Liz, quoted in the statement. Marina Oliveira da Silva, first author of the research, also clarifies that the receptor "is exactly the same that the HIV [human immunodeficiency virus] uses to infect cells". "We decided to test molecules that acted on the receptor and blocked the action of synuclein, reversing the dysfunction of the synapses and, consequently, of the neurons", she says. The researchers contacted an American company that develops peptides - a type of molecule formed by the union of amino acids - that block the receptor under study and confirmed "their great clinical potential". "This peptide is much more potent than the drug approved by the FDA [Food and Drug Administration, the regulator of the North American pharmaceutical market] to stop HIV and has the advantage of entering the brain quickly and being administered orally", explains the researcher. After being validated in cell tests, the researchers intend to test the action of the peptide in animal models with dementia. "We also eagerly await funding that will allow us to also test this peptide in animal models with Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases", she adds. Also Read: Exercise causes cellular and molecular changes that help in health (Portuguese version)