The new drug is expected to clear the amyloid plaques in the brain

A long sought drug to reduce amyloid in the brain of Alzheimer's patients is on the way, according to the journal Science Translational Medicine of the American Association for the advancement of science Alzheimer's disease, also known as Alzheimer's disease, is a common senile disease Amyloid plaques are deposited in the brain of patients These deposits can damage the structure and function of brain nerve tissue, leading to the death of nerve cells and the loss of cognitive function In addition, the disease will also change the vascular system, resulting in more amyloid protein deposition in the cerebral vessels In a phase I clinical trial, a compound that blocks the enzyme BACE1, a major therapeutic target in AD, can safely reduce the toxic β - amyloid protein in the brain of 32 ad study participants Unlike other BACE1 inhibitors, which can cause serious side effects, the new drug has been proved to be safe, thus becoming the first oral BACE1 inhibitor to enter phase III clinical trials β - amyloid protein (a β) is a kind of cohesive peptide that gathers and integrates plaques These plaques can damage the brain of AD patients BACE1 plays a key role in the production of a β, so blocking BACE1 becomes a promising method to clear the accumulation of amyloid protein in the brain However, these drugs are toxic, which will lead to liver damage and further neurodegenerative side effects It is still difficult to find a BACE1 inhibitor that can penetrate the blood-brain barrier To this end, Matthew Kennedy and colleagues from the neuroscience Department of Merck Research Laboratory in the United States have developed a new drug called veruberestat, which is a powerful and well tolerated BACE1 inhibitor A single dose of the drug significantly reduced the concentration of a β in the blood and brain fluid of rats and monkeys Even after delayed treatment, the animals showed no signs of toxicity Phase I trials in healthy adults and patients with mild to moderate AD showed that single or multiple doses of the drug reduced the a β concentration without serious side effects At present, the drug has entered a phase III trial to explore its long-term effect in AD patients.