Dr. Nibaldo Inestrosa wins the 2008 Natural Sciences National Award.

Unanimously, the jury composed by the Education Minister, MónicaJiménezthe Chile University’s vice-chancellor, VíctorPerez, the last awardwinner, Dr. Cecilia Hidalgo, MagellanUniversity’s vice-chancellor, Victor Sagrado, and Juan Asenjomember of the Chilean Science Academy, rewarded Dr. Inestrosa.

The award, created in 1968 in the same law that constitutes the National Scientific and Technological Research Commission (CONICYT)was submitted on the following year for the first time, to professor Alejandro Lipschütz and establishes in its bases that the award will be granted to a scientist or scientists team whose work in the pure sciences field makesthem deserving of such a distinction.

In Dr. Inestrosa’s case, merits are more than sufficient. This 57 years-old scientist’sout-standing career has more than 170 publications in important scientific magazines of worldwide impact. In hiscareeras teacher, hehas directly taken part in the training of more than 86 excellence professionals specialized in biomedicine, among whom Post-doctorates, Doctorates,Masters and Pre-gradepupils stand out. But undoubtedly his most significant contribution is to clarify the Alzheimer's disease cellular and molecular bases.

A science passionate.

Nibaldo Inestrosa Cantín was borned in Puerto Montt in 1957 and studied in that city’s nº2 public school. Later, he moves to Valdivia where he attends the Salesiano Institute. Once he finished high school, moved to Santiago to enter Chile University’s Med-School, but later he quitted and entered to the Catholic University, where he graduated in 1974 as a Biological Sciences graduate.

In this faculty meets the person that will become hisgreat mentor, Dr. Joaquín. V. Luco, who receives in 1975the national award. Later, in the same university, he performsaSciencewith mention in Cellular and Molecular Biology doctorate. Continuing with his studies moves to the California Universityin USA to performa Post-Doctorate.

With 56 years-old Dr. Inestrosa has developed an impressive career, in all these years this scientist has been specially interested in the study of the Alzheimer's Disease biological bases.

Dr. Inestrosa’s fight against Alzheimer's Disease

In the last years this researcher, along with his work team, has achieved important outcomes in the identificación of two plants that are believed that might stop and revert the damage caused by Alzheimer's disease.

Only in our country this disease affects more than 150 thousand people and in the world its considered to be the fourth cause of death,and these scientists have achieved important outcomes with compounds from the San Juan herb- of Euro-Asian and North African origin - and the Andrographis - imported from India-.

The researchesperformed, to the date, in animals have showed a significant recovery of memory in rats that simulate the disease (transgenics). This makes believe not only about the chance of retarding the advance of thedisease, but about its possible setback of it. The scientists, who soon will initiate the testsin human beings, hope that this prolongs the life of the patients in,at least, five years.

This neurodegenerative pathology arisesbecause of the accumulation in the brain of a protein, called ß-AmyloidPeptide, which is highly toxic for the neurons and formsthe so called senile plates that unleash a series of harmful reactions that end up by killing these cells and affecting the brain function.

The disease is characterized by a progressive memory loss, the language, the reason capacity, comprehension, calculation and learning. The global functions loss has an irreversible course and interferes in the person’s activities, as well as in hissocial and labour relationships.

Dr. Inestrosa has verified that the hyperforin - one of the isolated derivatives of the San Juan herb and that also is used as an antidepressant-, protects from the toxicity of the ß-AmyloidPeptide, which produces the disease, diminishing the deposits of it in the brain and preventing a series of harmful reactions.

In the brain of patients affected by the disease, this peptidegathers in groups formingthe so called “senile plates”, which cover and cause the death of the neurons, affecting with it the brain activity. The hyperforin eliminates these plates, an effect searched for years, and tests in transgenic mice proved that the conduct of the animals treated with the compound certainly improves.

While, the derivative of the Andrographis, protects the cells keeping them in good shape and avoiding their death. The Andrafolid - principle derived from the plant- lowers what is known as oxidative stress. A similar effect to the expected from the antioxidants. Itdoes not make the platedissapear, but the improvement is very good from the behavioral point of view.

The director of the Aging Center (CARE), of the Cellular Regulation and Pathology Center(CRCP) and head teacher of the Biological Sciences Faculty of the Catholic University has studied the intimate life of the senile plates, which appear in the brain of the patients and are mortal for neurons.

One of this group’s first achievements in the search of a treatment for Alzheimer was theidentification of an enzyme that stimulates these plates formation. This clarified why the treatment with these enzyme’s inhibiters, which are nowadays the onlyexisting palliative therapy to fight back this disease, were giving result.

After this discovery they faced a second dilemma: what to do when the plates are already formed? Dr. Inestrosafocused on finding a mechanism to inhibit the senile plates action. Then was when, along with his group, heidentified another protein that could disorganize them, which meant anenormous advance.

At the same time, Dr. Inestrosa’s interest was to get to know the mechanism by which the neuron finds-out about the peptide attack and was in that moment when they discovered a specific system by which the neuron defends itself from these attacks. This one is the so called “Wntpathway”.

Since 2000, the group led by Dr. Inestrosa deepened the study of this pathway, which has a fundamental role in preventing this disease, because when Wnt is active, avoids the attacks to the neuron, but when stops working, neurons are easy prey for the disease. Today the challenge is to get to know what factors activate and deactivate this pathway and from this, start developing drugs that activate and therefore prevent the cell’s death.

Dr. Nibaldo Inestrosa will recieve as a prize, for once, 14 million pesos and a lifetime pension equivalent to 20 UTM from January, 2009 and a diploma that certifies him as 2008’s Exact Sciences National Award winner.

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