RT Journal Article SR Electronic(1) A1 Riemer, Constanze A1 Burwinkel, Michael A1 Schwarz, Anja A1 Gültner, Sandra A1 Mok, Simon W. F. A1 Heise, Ines A1 Holtkamp, Nikola A1 Baier, MichaelYR 2008 T1 Evaluation of drugs for treatment of prion infections of the central nervous system JF Journal of General Virology, VO 89 IS 2 SP 594 OP 597 DO https://doi.org/10.1099/vir.0.83281-0 PB Microbiology Society, SN 1465-2099, AB Prion diseases are fatal and at present there are neither cures nor therapies available to delay disease onset or progression in humans. Inspired in part by therapeutic approaches in the fields of Alzheimer's disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, we tested five different drugs, which are known to efficiently pass through the blood–brain barrier, in a murine prion model. Groups of intracerebrally prion-challenged mice were treated with the drugs curcumin, dapsone, ibuprofen, memantine and minocycline. Treatment with antibiotics dapsone and minocycline had no therapeutic benefit. Ibuprofen-treated mice showed severe adverse effects, which prevented assessment of therapeutic efficacy. Mice treated with low- but not high-dose curcumin and mice treated with memantine survived infections significantly longer than untreated controls (P<0.01). These results encourage further research efforts to improve the therapeutic effect of these drugs., UL https://www.microbiologyresearch.org/content/journal/jgv/10.1099/vir.0.83281-0