Step closer to 'Holy Grail' cure for Alzheimer's

Step closer to 'Holy Grail' cure for Alzheimer's
By Rebecca Smith, Medical Editor
24/07/2007
Telegraph UK

Doctors have moved a step nearer to finding a cure for Alzheimer's and reversing damage already caused by the disease, it was announced yesterday.

The team of researchers developed a chemical that that can prevent Alzheimer's from killing brain cells

A team in Scotland have developed a chemical that can prevent the disease from killing brain cells, which causes memory loss and other symptoms.

Although it is likely to be several years before the compound can be developed into a drug for use in humans, campaigners described the breakthrough as "exciting".

Researchers at the University of St Andrews, working with scientists in America, developed man-made compounds capable of blocking a nerve cell interaction known to lead to symptoms of the disease.

In the very early stages of Alzheimer's, a toxic protein called amyloid builds up in nerve cells and kills them. It then moves out of the cells and collects in clumps known as senile plaques. The amyloid latches on to an enzyme called Amyloid Beta Alcohol Dehydrogenase (ABAD) and switches it off.

The researchers at St Andrews developed a three-dimensional shape of ABAD to understand how amyloid attaches itself.

They were then able to develop a chemical decoy called a peptide which attracted the amyloid to stick to it instead of the ABAD.

It also caused some amyloid to decouple from ABAD where it was already attached and link up with the peptide instead. Some symptoms of learning problems and memory loss improved in mice.

Dr Frank Gunn-Moore, a senior lecturer at the university's school of biology, who led the research, said: "We have shown that it is possible to reverse some of the signs associated with Alzheimer's disease. Our research holds a possible key for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease, particularly in its early stages."

Dr Gunn-Moore believes it will take another three years to develop the peptide into a drug and then several more years before the first human trials can be carried out.

Their results have prompted the Alzheimer's Research Trust to help fund a further three years of research. Rebecca Wood, the Trust's chief executive, described the findings as exciting. "A drug that can stop Alzheimer's disease from killing brain cells is a Holy Grail for researchers working to overcome the devastating condition which affects more than 500,000 people in the UK," she said.

The number of sufferers is expected to double to more than one million with the general ageing of the population over the next generation.

Dr Susanne Sorensen, head of research at the Alzheimer's Society, said: "The study provides another important piece in the puzzle for understanding Alzheimer's disease and points toward a possible new treatment target, which has so far been unexplored."

Campaigners will hear next month whether their court attempt to overturn a ban on giving people in England and Wales with mild or late-stage Alzheimer's a new class of drugs has been successful.

It is the first-ever court challenge of a decision by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice).

Nice ruled that only those in the moderate stages of the disease should be prescribed Aricept, Exelon, Reminyl and Ebixa, despite agreeing that they were effective. The drugs, at a cost £2.50 per person per day, were "too expensive".