Flipping the idea

Initial attempts to develop bryostatin 1 have been disappointing for cancer researchers because of myalgia, a dose-limiting toxicity. But the protein kinase C modulator may have applications in other indications, in particular Alzheimer's disease (AD), according to a report in last week's Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

"Bryostatin 1 turns out to be the most potent PKC activator ever described," said Daniel Alkon, co-founder of the Blanchette Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute. Alkon has been studying PKC for 20 years. ...