​Emiliano Trías and his research team investigates diseases such as Alzheimer's, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), and premature brain aging. They study how our brain cells age, why aging sometimes occurs prematurely and why cells die in neurodegenerative diseases.

In this regard, Emiliano Trías explained that the research team he leads is working on drugs that are capable of halting the progression of these diseases. "In particular, for the last ten years we have been working with a drug called Masitinib, which inhibits or blocks the toxic effect of some types of cells of the immune system on neurons and on muscles and nerves," said Trías, adding that it is showing "very good, very promising" results. 

This drug, based on preclinical studies and studies of the mechanisms of action, began to be tested in patients and clinical trials and achieved very promising results, to such an extent that in the next few months a new phase 3 clinical trial with hundreds of patients will begin. If these positive results are confirmed, the drug could reach the clinic and help patients.

Furthermore, recently, Trías and his group published an article in the journal Acta Neuropathologica Communications that took several years of work. Carried out by IPMont Montevideo researcher Mariángeles Kovacs as part of her PhD, the study describes for the first time in depth the presence of a type of immune system cells (mast cells) in the nervous system (brain and spinal cord) of ALS patients.

Trías holds a degree in Biological Sciences from the Faculty of Sciences of Udelar, a master's degree and a PhD in neurosciences from the Program for the Development of Basic Sciences (Pedeciba), and since 2014 he has been a member of the Neurodegeneration Laboratory at the Institut Pasteur in Montevideo, where he completed his postdoctoral studies in cellular neuroscience. He is the co-founder and serves as Chief Scientific Officer (CSO) of Xeptiva Therapeutics.

About Xeptiva

Xeptiva Therapeutics LLC is a clinical stage biotech company dedicated to the development of immunotherapies to treat conditions associated with chronic neuroinflammation in companion animals. The company was created with the mission to improve companion animal’s health span (quality of life) and lifespan (years of life) by developing simple, affordable, disruptive, and highly effective immunotherapies

About the Institut Pasteur de Montevideo

The Institut Pasteur de Montevideo (IP Montevideo) is one of the most recent affiliates of the Institut Pasteur International Network (RIIP in French), composed of 33 independent centres located in five continents and united by the same values. Dedicated to scientific research in biomedicine, IP Montevideo is composed by high-tech scientific platforms in areas such as genomics, proteomics, bioinformatics, molecular and cellular biology; laboratories are open to young scientists’ research projects; it has become an international education centre with courses on the latest biological knowledge and state-of-the-art technologies; and promotes start-ups for the development of biotechnological applications

About IBRO 

IBRO is the global association of neuroscience societies established in 1961 that aims to promote and support neuroscience around the world through training, education, research, outreach and engagement activities, and the publication of our two journals, Neuroscience and IBRO Neuroscience Reports.