A new approach to treating amyloid diseases may help prevent or cure illnesses such as Alzheimer's, according to a report in the journal Science.

Researchers at the Skaggs Institute for Chemical Biology at The Scripps Research Institute in California said their study showed that you can use small molecules to stabilize the shape of amyloid proteins, keeping them from twisting into the wrong shape.

For a protein to perform its normal function, chains of amino acids must be folded in a particular way.

But in Alzheimer's, this protein folding goes awry forming the amyloid plaques that accumulate in the brains of people with the disease. These plauqes are viewed by many researchers as the underlying cause of the degeneration and dementia that characterize Alzheimer's.

In their study, the researchers found that a drug called diflunisal, approved as an anti-inflammatory drug to treat arthritis, appeared to help keep some amyloid proteins from becoming twisted.

"This small-molecule strategy should be effective in treating amyloid diseases," the researchers concluded.

Other sources: Science