Resveratrol Studies Suggest Broad Implications for SIRT1 Activation in Neurodegenerative Diseases of Aging Such as Alzheimer's D

  
    
  
  
    
      Sirtris Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: SIRT), a biopharmaceutical 
      company focused on discovering and developing small molecule drugs to 
      treat diseases of aging, announced today that activation of SIRT1, a 
      member of the sirtuin family of enzymes, was shown to protect against 
      neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s 
      Disease and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis in animal models. These 
      findings appear in an article published in Volume 26, Number 13 of The 
      European Molecular Biology Organization Journal (EMBO), Kim et al., 
      2007 entitled “SIRT1 deacetylase protects 
      against neurodegeneration in models for Alzheimer's disease and 
      amyotrophic lateral sclerosis” which is also 
      available now in the advance online publication.
    
    
      It is well established that a progressive loss of neurons with age 
      underlies a variety of debilitating neurological disorders including 
      Alzheimer’s Disease and Amyotrophic Lateral 
      Sclerosis (ALS), neurodegenerative diseases which have been associated 
      with reduced mitochondrial function. Sirtuins are a recently discovered 
      class of enzymes that appear to affect the aging process in mammals and 
      increase the number and function of mitochondria.
    
    
      According to the findings in this paper, resveratrol, a SIRT1 activator, 
      reduced the loss of neuronal function in the brain (hippocampus) and 
      prevented learning impairment in a well established animal model of 
      Alzheimer’s Disease. This response was 
      associated with SIRT1 dependent deacetylation of PGC1a. Resveratrol also 
      promoted neuronal survival in cell based models of Alzheimer’s 
      Disease and ALS.
    
    
      The three senior authors of the EMBO article include Sirtris 
      co-founder and co-chair of the Scientific Advisory Board (SAB), David A. 
      Sinclair, Ph.D., Department of Pathology and Paul F. Glenn Laboratories 
      for the Biological Mechanisms of Aging, Harvard Medical School, and 
      Sirtris SAB members Li-Huei Tsai, Ph.D. Howard Hughes Medical Institute, 
      Picower Institute for Learning and Memory, Massachusetts Institute of 
      Technology and Pere Puigserver, Ph.D., Dana Farber Cancer Institute and 
      Department of Cell Biology, Harvard Medical School.
    
    
      “This work is significant because it shows 
      that a SIRT1 activator can protect against neurodegeneration, 
      highlighting the therapeutic potential of SIRT1 activators,” 
      said David Sinclair.
    
    
      Christoph Westphal, M.D., Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of Sirtris 
      Pharmaceuticals added “These new data support 
      our belief in SIRT1 as a therapeutic target for neurodegenerative 
      disease, which expands the potential of our pipeline of SIRT1 modulators 
      designed to treat a number of diseases of aging such as metabolic and 
      mitochondrial disorders, and now neurological disorders.”
    
    
      Online copies of the article can be obtained at: http://www.nature.com/emboj
    
    
      About Sirtris Pharmaceuticals
    
    
      Sirtris Pharmaceuticals is a biopharmaceutical company focused on 
      discovering and developing proprietary, orally available, small molecule 
      drugs with the potential to treat diseases associated with aging, 
      including metabolic diseases such as Type 2 Diabetes. Our drug 
      candidates are designed to mimic certain beneficial health effects of 
      calorie restriction, without requiring a change in eating habits, by 
      activation of sirtuins, a recently discovered class of enzymes that 
      control the aging process. The company's headquarters are in Cambridge, 
      Massachusetts.
    
    
      This press release contains forward-looking statements within the 
      meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 
      concerning Sirtris Pharmaceuticals, its product candidates, and those 
      candidates' clinical potential. These forward-looking statements about 
      future expectations, plans and prospects of Sirtris Pharmaceuticals 
      involve significant risks, uncertainties and assumptions, including 
      risks related to the lack of results that would provide a basis for 
      predicting whether any of the Company’s 
      product candidates will be safe or effective, or receive regulatory 
      approval, the Company's potential inability to initiate and complete 
      preclinical studies and clinical trials for its product candidates, the 
      fact that none of the Company's product candidates has received 
      regulatory approvals, the potential inability of the Company to gain 
      market acceptance of the Company's product candidates, and those other 
      risks factors that can be found in the Company's filings with the 
      Securities and Exchange Commission. Actual results may differ materially 
      from those Sirtris Pharmaceuticals contemplated by these forward-looking 
      statements. Sirtris Pharmaceuticals does not undertake to update any of 
      these forward-looking statements to reflect a change in its views or 
      events or circumstances that occur after the date of this release.