Alzheimer's disease, AD, or senile dementia of Alzheimer's type is a neurodegenerative disease which results in a loss of mental functions (dementia) due to the deterioration of brain tissue. Its exact etiology (cause) is still unknown, but environmental as well as genetic factors are thought to contribute.

New drug soon to cure Alzheimer's disease & dementia

Alzheimer's Disease :: New drug soon to cure Alzheimer's disease & dementia

St Andrews researchers have received a ?84,743 boost from supporters of the UK?s leading dementia research charity to find out more about compounds which they believe could reverse some of the early signs of Alzheimer?s.

The three-year grant will fund PhD student, Kirsty Muirhead, as she attempts to design man-made compounds that stop an enzyme called ABAD from triggering a host of biochemical reactions that result in the death of brain cells, in order to bring scientists one step closer to developing an Alzheimer's therapy.

The new study was prompted by intriguing results from another Alzheimer?s Research Trust (ART) funded project, led by St Andrew?s investigator Dr Frank Gunn-Moore, which looked at the enzyme ABAD (Amyloid Beta Alcohol Dehydrogenase). In healthy individuals ABAD helps to produce energy in the brain, but in Alzheimer?s patients, an abnormal protein called amyloid beta sticks to it and triggers harmful biochemical reactions that eventually kill brain cells. Using the previous ART grant Dr Gunn-Moore and his team were able to identify compounds capable of stopping ABAD from binding to amyloid beta in an animal model of Alzheimer?s disease.

Their discovery had exciting results: early signs of disease progression were reversed; brain cell death was prevented and otherwise impaired memory and learning abilities improved. The group now hopes that Kirsty will build on their earlier success with her PhD studies when she aims to find other compounds also capable of preventing amyloid beta from binding to ABAD and test their relative effectiveness and safety in order to find the inhibitor with the greatest potential for use in future therapies.

Rebecca Wood, Chief Executive of the Alzheimer?s Research Trust, said the charity was proud and delighted to fund what could prove to be such an important research endeavour.

She said, ?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.

?Alzheimer?s is a complex and under-funded disease, so it is a real challenge to find the right targets to fight it. If the researchers can find proof that inhibiting a particular reaction will prevent the death of brain cells then this is a real step forward - but we desperately need to fund many more steps if we are to beat this devastating disease and find a cure.

?We wish Dr Gunn-Moore and his team well in this exciting research.?

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