New piece of Alzheimer's puzzle found

University of Alberta Distinguished University Professor and neurologist Jack Jhamandas, '74 BSc, '76 MSc, PhD, has found a new piece of the Alzheimer's puzzle, bringing him closer to a treatment for the disease.

Ryan O'Byrne - 27 May 2020

University of Alberta Distinguished University Professor and neurologist Jack Jhamandas, '74 BSc, '76 MSc, PhD, has found a new piece of the Alzheimer's puzzle, bringing him closer to a treatment for the disease.

Jhamandas and his team found two short peptides, that when injected into mice with Alzheimer's disease daily for five weeks, significantly improved the mice's memory. The treatment also reduced some of the harmful physical changes in the brain associated with the disease.

This discovery builds on findings of the compound AC253, which can block the toxic effects of the protein amyloid beta, believed to be a major contributor to Alzheimer's. However, treatment using injectable AC253 requires large amounts to be effective because it is metabolized so quickly. A pill version would address the metabolism issues and increase efficacy, but AC253 is too complex to make an effective oral drug. By cutting it into smaller pieces, the team found two short peptides that replicated the preventive and restorative abilities of the larger one.

Jhamandas and his team, which includes renowned virologists D. Lorne Tyrrell, '68 MD, PhD, and Michael Houghton, PhD, are using computer modelling and artificial intelligence to develop a small-molecule drug for Alzheimer's, much like medications available to treat high blood pressure or cholesterol.

The team is focused on manufacturing an optimized, oral version of the drug so human clinical trials can begin, says Jhamandas, adding small-molecule drugs are preferable because they are cheaper to make, can be taken orally and can more easily reach the brain through the blood.

Jhamandas' research was supported by grants from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Alberta Innovates (Alberta Prion Research Institute), Alzheimer's Society of Alberta and Northwest Territories, University Hospital Foundation, the Centre for Prion & Protein Folding Diseases, Li Ka Shing Institute of Virology and Applied Virology Institute.

$1M grant sparks U of A Alzheimer's research collaboration