Researchers in England are hoping to begin clinical trials shortly of a new drug called CHPCP that may erode the protein clumps associated with Alzheimer's disease, diabetes and other disorders.

In Alzheimer's and some other diseases, proteins fold into abnormal shapes, or amyloid plaques that wreak havoc on internal organs. Researchers believe clearing away the plaques that form in the brain is the key to reversing nerve damage that causes dementia.

Dr. Mark Pepys of Royal Free and University College Medical School in London, England, says CHPCP could unlock the door to future treatments.

The novel drug -- a small molecule that isn't absorbed by the body -- interferes with serum amyloid P component, or SAP, which actually acts to protect the "bad plaques." So while the drug cannot penetrate the brain, it can draw out the SAP lodged there and potentially destabilize Alzheimer's plaques.

Pepys and colleagues, reporting in Nature, said the drug has eliminated SAP from the blood and from amyloid protein deposits throughout the body of mice, where the drug shrank the plaques within weeks.

Additionally, 19 patients with amyloid plaque disorders have received injections of the drug for up to nine-and-a-half months, with researchers reporting levels of SAP at five percent of what they were before treatment began.

The new trial will include five to 10 people with moderate to severe Alzheimer's, with researchers paying close attention to patient tolerability, as well as the drug's ability to slow the progression of the disease.

"This mechanism of drug action potentially removes SAP from human amyloid deposits in the tissues and may provide a new therapeutic approach to both systemic amyloidosis and diseases associated with local amyloid, including Alzheimer's disease and type 2 diabetes," the researchers concluded.

Other Sources: Nature