A team of Brazilian researchers at UFABC, supported by FAPESP, has developed a new compound showing promise in treating Alzheimer’s disease by targeting and degrading harmful beta-amyloid plaques.
A team of researchers at the Federal University of ABC (UFABC) in Brazil has made a significant breakthrough in the fight against Alzheimer’s disease. Supported by the São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP), the team has developed a new chemical compound that could offer a new avenue for treatment by degrading the beta-amyloid plaques that are a hallmark of the disease.
Utilizing a multi-faceted approach combining computer simulations, cell culture tests and animal experiments, the researchers found that the compound effectively minimizes memory loss, spatial awareness difficulties and learning issues in rats with induced Alzheimer’s.
Moreover, the compound, acting as a copper chelator, binds to excess copper in beta-amyloid plaques, facilitating their degradation.
“About a decade ago, international studies began to point to the influence of copper ions as an aggregator of beta-amyloid plaques. It was discovered that genetic mutations and changes in enzymes that act in the transport of copper in cells could lead to the accumulation of the element in the brain, favoring the aggregation of these plaques. Thus, the regulation of copper homeostasis [balance] has become one of the focuses for the treatment of Alzheimer’s,” Giselle Cerchiaro, a professor in UFABC’s Center for Natural and Human Sciences who coordinated the study, said in a news release.
The team’s findings, published in the journal ACS Chemical Neuroscience, revealed that the new compound is not only effective but also easy to synthesize.
The compound reduced neuroinflammation, oxidative stress and restored copper balance in the hippocampus — the brain region responsible for memory. Importantly, the compound demonstrated safety, showing no toxicity to hippocampal cell cultures or in the treated animals.
This research marks a promising development in Alzheimer’s treatment, especially in the context of the current therapeutic landscape, which largely focuses on symptom relief rather than root causes. With an estimated 50 million people worldwide living with Alzheimer’s disease, new treatments that target the disease’s fundamental mechanisms are urgently needed.
The researchers are pushing forward with plans to translate these promising preclinical findings into human clinical trials.
“It’s an extremely simple, safe, and effective molecule. The compound we’ve developed is much less expensive than available drugs. Therefore, even if it only works for part of the population, since Alzheimer’s disease has multiple causes, it’d represent a huge advance over current options,” Cerchiaro added.
The UFABC research team’s development has already led to a patent application, and they are currently seeking partnerships with pharmaceutical companies to further test and potentially commercialize the compound.
Source: São Paulo Research Foundation