Major Alzheimer’s breakthrough as experts discover ‘double whammy’ drug that destroys memory-robbing brain proteins

A first-of-its-kind drug that targets toxic protein tangles in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients could offer new hope to millions of people living with the disease.

Developed by a team of international researchers led by British experts, the drug targets two protein ‘hotspots’ that cause the memory-robbing condition to worsen over time.

Although drugs that target these proteins have been developed before, they typically only work on one of these areas, and not both.

Development is still in the early stages and the drug has only been tested on human cells in the laboratory and on animals.

But the experts behind the drug, called RI-AG03, say initial findings are promising.

The drug targets tau proteins that normally play a crucial role in maintaining the health of brain cells.

However, in people with Alzheimer’s disease, they clump together to form clumps that rob brain cells of nutrients and slow signals in the organ.

These tangles eventually kill neurons, and as more die, memory and thinking skills become increasingly poor.

This is where RI-AG03 comes into the picture. Professor Amritpal Mudher, an expert in neuroscience at the University of Southampton, explained that it targets two parts of the tau protein where these clumps come from.

She said that “for the first time” we have a drug that is effective at slowing the formation of tau tangles.

It works by a different mechanism than the recent blockbuster Alzheimer’s drugs, lecanemab and donanemab, which recruit the immune system to clear out the buildup of another harmful protein linked to the disease, amyloid.

Dr. Anthony Aggidis, also based at Southampton, and author of a new paper on RI-AG03, added that the discovery could offer hope to the millions of people suffering from Alzheimer’s disease.

“Our research represents an important step toward creating treatments that can prevent the progression of diseases like Alzheimer’s,” he said.

‘By targeting both key areas of the tau protein, this unique approach could help tackle the growing impact of dementia on society, and provide a much-needed new option for treating these devastating diseases.’

The team, which also included experts from the US and Japan, published the results of experiments with the drug Alzheimer’s and Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer’s Association.

RI-AG03 was administered to fruit flies with toxic tau protein tangles.

Researchers found that the drug not only suppressed the degeneration of the insects’ brain cells, but also extended their lifespan by two weeks compared to those who did not receive the drug.

Professor Mudher said: ‘The higher the dose given, the greater the improvement we saw in the fruit fly’s lifespan.’

The team also conducted experiments on human cells in the laboratory and found similar evidence that it reduced the clumping of tau.

They said they now plan to conduct further studies in rodents and, if successful, initiate clinical trials in humans.

Research into RI-AG03 was funded by the charity Alzheimer’s Society UK.

Deputy Director of Research and Innovation, Dr Richard Oakley, welcomed the results.

‘Dementia is the biggest cause of death in Britain, and it puts enormous costs and pressure on our healthcare system. That’s why we’re committed to funding leading research like this,” he said.

‘This research takes promising steps towards a new, unique therapy.

‘This drug has the potential to be more targeted than others currently under investigation, and we hope it will result in fewer toxic side effects.

‘It’s important to note that the research is still in its early stages, so we don’t know yet whether it will work or be safe for people, but it’s an exciting development and we look forward to seeing where it leads .’

According to the Alzheimer’s Society, around 982,000 people in Britain are living with dementia.

This number is expected to rise to 1.4 million by 2040.

After years of false starts with potential drugs for Alzheimer’s disease, a wave of promising drugs has emerged.

Last year, the medical community rejoiced when the first drug to significantly slow the progression of Alzheimer’s disease was approved in the US.

Manufacturers said the study results showed that lecanemab – also known as Leqembi – slowed cognitive and functional decline in early-stage Alzheimer’s patients by 27 percent over 18 months.

This corresponds to a five-month delay in disease progression.

This was followed by results for donanemab, which showed it slowed the progression of Alzheimer’s disease by as much as 35 percent.

But experts have warned that people taking the drugs actually lose volume in their brains.

There are also concerns about brain hemorrhages in patients.

Study results for lecanemab show that about 21 percent of participants who received the drug experienced swelling or bleeding in the brain, compared to 9 percent of those who received a placebo.

The majority of patients had no side effects or had very mild symptoms, while most patients who experienced swelling or bleeding in the brain saw these problems disappear by the end of the trial.

Experts have also previously highlighted that more than 80 per cent of Brits at risk of Alzheimer’s could miss out on the new drugs because there is no testing for the disease.

Scientists from London estimate that only 14 percent of patients referred to clinics would actually benefit from the treatments.

Researchers said there was a ‘clear and urgent’ need to improve NHS screening to find out who could benefit from new Alzheimer’s drugs.

Alzheimer’s disease is the leading cause of dementia and causes memory-depriving disorders in about three in five patients.

It is expected that the number of cases of dementia will increase explosively in the coming years, partly as a result of the increasing aging population.

Currently, the only medications available for Alzheimer’s disease are to treat the symptoms.