Australian neuroscientists claim pill may prevent onset of Alzheimer’s

Australian neuroscientists claim pill may prevent onset of Alzheimer’s

A team of neuroscientists at the Mental Health Research Institute of Victoria is working with the pharmaceutical company Prana Biotechnology to develop a new drug called PBT2 that could delay the onset of the degenerative symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease, which is now being diagnosed in Australia at a rate of 1,000 new cases per week.

The drug works by blocking the interaction between amyloid beta protein, which is the abnormal protein produced in patients with Alzheimer’s disease in the brain, and metal ions in the brain, and in particular copper.

It also prevents the precipitation of the protein in the brain and thereby the production of large plaques of abnormal protein that interfere with normal nerve conduction.
About 90 people over the age of 60 and in the early stages of Alzheimer’s will take part in a controlled experiment in Sweden for at least a year followed by trials in Australia.

Alzheimer’s Australia Executive Director in Victoria, Lynette Moore, says even if clinical trials are successful, the release of such a pill onto the market could take another five to 10 years.