Meredith Hay
University of Arizona, AZ·Pharmacology
About 55 million people worldwide live with dementia, and that number is projected to exceed 139 million by 2050. Many cases are tied to the health of the brain's blood vessels.
- Fields
Pharmacology
Neuroscience
Medicine & Clinical Research
- Topics
vascular dementia
vascular contributions to cognitive impairment and dementia
Alzheimer's disease related dementias
- Grants
- 1 known grant, through Aug 2027
What they work on
- Conduct six-month chronic toxicology studies in two animal species to define the safety profile and toxicokinetics (how drug levels change in the body over time) of PNA5, a brain-penetrating Mas receptor-activating peptide, given by injection under the skin.
- Scale up manufacturing of PNA5 under good manufacturing practice (GMP) quality standards, then complete final filling and packaging of the peptide for use in Phase 2 trials in vascular cognitive impairment.
- Complete the regulatory assessments and documentation needed to update the FDA Investigational New Drug application, and design a Phase 2 trial of PNA5 in people with mild cognitive impairment at risk for VCID or ADRD.
More about the research
Vascular contributions to cognitive impairment and dementia (VCID) describes memory and thinking decline linked to vascular disease, inflammation and reduced blood flow to the brain. Between 40% and 46% of people with this kind of impairment progress to dementia within five years, yet no drugs exist to prevent the decline. This work aims to move a candidate anti-inflammatory drug toward testing in people with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) who are at risk for VCID or Alzheimer's disease related dementias (ADRD).
Why it matters
People with mild cognitive impairment linked to vascular disease face a high risk of developing dementia, and no approved drugs exist to prevent that decline. If PNA5 proves safe in long-term studies, it could enter Phase 2 trials as a first-in-class anti-inflammatory treatment aimed at protecting thinking and memory in people at risk for vascular dementia and Alzheimer's disease related dementias.
Known grants
From NIH and NSF research grants. Labs often have other funding we can't see.
Closest labs
Ulf Bronas
Georgetown University, DC·Medicine & Clinical Research
Test whether a 6-month home-based walking program improves executive function and other areas of thinking in 116 older adults with chronic kidney disease and mild cognitive impairment, compared with an attention control group.
Charles France
University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, TX·Pharmacology
Submit an Investigational New Drug application to the FDA for methocinnamox (MCAM), a long-acting mu-opioid receptor blocker, to prevent opioid relapse after detoxification.
Evan Jordan
Indiana University, IN·Public Health & Epidemiology
Determine where, when, and what environmental stressors are experienced by 300 urban and 300 rural Indiana residents with mild cognitive impairment, using the STRIVE smartphone app, GPS tracking, and smartwatch data.
The school
University of Arizona: 36 labs on PI Pages, $1.0B a year on research, 487 research doctorates a year.
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