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Alzheimer''s drug discovered

14 Apr 2009

A drug has been discovered in a British university that could be developed as a treatment for Alzheimer''s.

University College London''s dementia research unit said its preliminary findings were encouraging and called for a larger study to be done.

The work involves a drug capable of targeting a specific protein in the Alzheimer sufferer''s brain (serum amyloid P component or SAP) which has previously been identified as a possible therapeutic treatment for the disease.

According to the researchers, it is too early to know for sure whether the treatment using CPHPC can be used as a beneficial aid to sufferers.

"The safety of CPHPC, together with the novel action of the drug in removing SAP from the brain, is very encouraging," explained professor Martin Rosser, who helped carry out the experiments.

Part-funded by the Alzheimer''s Research Trust, the tests were carried out on five patients over the space of three months.

In each of the subjects, SAP had decreased in the blood stream and in the brain, without any known side-effects.

Alzheimer''s Research Trust chief executive said the results were a "cause for cautious optimism".