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IT MAY be possible to develop drugs that slow the progress of Alzheimer鈥檚
disease without serious side effects, say researchers in France.

In Alzheimer鈥檚, clumps of amyloid-beta protein form in the brain. The protein
is formed when enzymes from a family called secretases snip the ends off a
larger protein called APP鈥攁nd so drugs that block secretases could be a
weapon against the disease. But secretases are also involved in tailoring a
number of other proteins that are key to normal development and immune function.
So secretase-blocking drugs, it was thought, would have serious side
effects.

Now Fr茅d茅ric Checler, a cell biologist at the CNRS Institute of
Molecular and Cellular Pharmacology, and his colleagues have shown that it is
possible to block the formation of amyloid plaques without unwanted side
effects. They studied the effects of compounds called JLK inhibitors on cells in
culture. They found that JLK inhibitors block the formation of amyloid-beta, but
don鈥檛 interfere with another secretase target, a protein called Notch.

This shows that you can selectively block plaque formation after all, says
Checler. It also suggests that a range of secretases tailor different proteins,
he adds.

The JLK inhibitors aren鈥檛 suitable for treating patients. 鈥淭hey are not
potent enough for the moment,鈥� Checler says. But the discovery opens up the way
for companies to develop better drugs.

Even if such drugs can be created, though, it鈥檚 not clear how effective they
will be. No one yet knows if plaques are a cause or merely a consequence of
Alzheimer鈥檚. But Checler hopes that it will be possible to slow down the disease
in its earlier stages.