U.S. Army Invests in Research on New Chemical Compound to Treat TBI

A new orally active, chemical compound called Posiphen is now being investigated by a small company in Pennsylvania called QR Pharma, Inc. Its CEO Dr. Maria Maccecchini says that research on mice shows the compound crosses the blood-brain barrier and inhibits synthesis of the three neuro-toxic proteins known to cause Alzheimer’s disease. In published studies Posiphen was able to reverse the build-up of these proteins back to normal levels in transgenic mice bred to develop Alzheimer’s. In 2011 the Michael J. Fox Foundation gave QR Pharma a half-million dollar grant to study its potential to mitigate Parkinson’s disease. In October 2013 the U.S. Army announced it was granting QR Pharma three million dollars to assess the potential of Posiphen to reduce inflammation and neuro-degeneration following TBI. People interested in following the progress of this research can visit the company’s website at www.qrpharma.com.