Gleevec, Novartis Leukemia Drug Could Lead to Alzheimer’s Treatment If…

Posted on September 2, 2010 by Jeffrey Newman

Some new research reported in the Journal Nature this week and highlighted in the New York Times, suggests that an existing drug used for leukemia could prevent the growth of beta amyloid, thought to cause Alzheimer’s disease. The problem is that when tested in animals, the drug Gleevec does not remain in the brain long enough to do its job. The researcher, Nobel Prize winner Paul Greenland found that Gleevec had the capability of stopping the amyloids and for five years studied how it worked. He and his team figured out that it targets and turns off specific proteins making the plaque. What appears hopeful at this stage is the new understand about the workings of the process that leads up to development of the disease. The question now is whether a Gleevec type drug can be made which stays within the brain to allow it to protect the cells.