Drug Treatment for Alzheimer's Possible
Posted on: Thursday, 19 April 2007, 15:00 CDT
U.S. scientists have developed a molecule that might lead to the first drug treatment for Alzheimer's disease.
The molecule, designed by Purdue University Professor Arun Ghosh, inhibits the first step in a chain of events leading to amyloid plaque formation in the brain.
Interdisciplinary research and the tools available today allowed us to build a molecule that is both highly potent and highly selective, said Ghosh.
He said Jordan Tang of the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation is one of the discoverers of the critical enzyme and target for intervention. Tang discovered a key enzyme called memapsin 2, or beta-secretase, is involved in the development of Alzheimer's disease. The action of that enzyme on a special protein, called the amyloid precursor protein, leads to the formation of plaques in the brain.
The development of an inhibitor compound targeting memapsin 2 could block that reaction, thus preventing the disease. Utilizing Tang's information about the enzyme, Ghosh designed the first memapsin 2 inhibitor.
The research findings are to appear in the May 3 issue of the Journal of Medicinal Chemistry and are available at the journal's Web site.
Source: United Press International
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