World-renowned neurobiology expert and NIPI Trustee Dr. Moussa Youdim has recently developed new medications that could significantly improve the lives of people suffering from both Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases.

Director of the Eve Topf Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases at the Technion Faculty of Medicine, Professor Youdim has worked for over 20 years to create drugs that offer real hope for those who suffer from these debilitating and incurable neurodegenerative diseases. Developed in collaboration with Technion Professor Dr. John Finberg by Teva Pharmaceuticals, Azilect® (Rasagiline) is now being marketed worldwide to provide relief to millions of Parkinson’s patients. “Some 40% of dementia patients suffer from both diseases, a combination known as Lewy Body disease”, Youdim explains. Meanwhile, Dr. Youdim is working to conquer Alzheimer's disease, partnering with another NIPI Trustee Professor Marta Weinstock-Rosin of the Hebrew University to produce Ladostigil, a drug which has the anti-Alzheimer effects of Rivastigmine, (Exelon) developed by Prof. Weinstock-Rosin with Novartis Ltd, together with potential anti-depressant effects as a brain selective monoamine oxidase inhibitor. Professor Weinstock–Rosin has recently shown that Ladostigil has potent anti-neuroinflammatory effects in rat models of Alzheimer's disease which could reduce disease progression. Ladostigil is now in Phase II of clinical trials.

Youdim and Weinstock-Rosin are investigating the relationship between different types of debilitating attacks on normal brain function. "We can look to the future with additional hope.” says Youdim, “As we investigate the use of Azilect® for its disease-modifying activity in Parkinson’s subjects and learn from the molecular mechanism of Azilect activity, we are moving to the development of novel multifunction neuroprotective and neurorestorative drugs, that show remarkable activity in transgenic models of Alzheimer's disease, Huntington disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).”