X-Rays reveal key research in Alzheimer’s Treatment

Image (developed from Australian Synchrotron data) courtesy of Dr Luke Miles, St Vincent's Institute. 
Victorian researchers have revealed key information about current treatments for Alzheimer’s disease using the Australian Synchrotron which is part of the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO).
Prof Michael Parker and his research team from St Vincent’s Institute of Medical Research have revealed how the drug, Solanezumab, interacts with brain proteins associated with the development of Alzheimer’s; the findings highlight what makes current therapies for the disease effective, and show how these therapies can be improved.
‘This research shows us how the drug interacts with a peptide that forms plaques in the brain, symptomatic of Alzheimer’s; these peptides are otherwise difficult for the body’s immune system to clear,’ Prof Parker says.
Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia, affecting 34 million sufferers worldwide. It is expected to become three times as common in the next 40 years as life expectancy increases. There is no cure for the disease, which damages the brain and affects memory, thinking and behaviour.
Out of every ten people with dementia, as many as seven have Alzheimer’s.
Solanezumab works by identifying foreign molecules and ‘escorting’ them to other parts of the immune system that destroy them. The latest research has indicated the drug behaves similarly to another drug under clinical trials for Alzheimer’s treatment, Crenezumab.
‘Our current study explains how both drugs recognise the toxic peptide and, in doing so, lays the foundation for how we can improve these therapies.’
Prof Parker says this level of understanding is essential and is informing the development of a second generation of drugs.
‘Based on this new information, and with the success of our current clinical trials, we are already developing a second generation antibody.’
The Synchrotron generates powerful x-ray beams and infrared light that researchers from around Australia use to examine the finest details of biomedical samples such as proteins, and materials important in other industries such as agriculture, mining and advanced materials. Prof. Parker used a technique called synchrotron x-ray crystallography that is essential for drug development around the world.
The same technique has been used by other researchers visiting the Australian Synchrotron to advance towards new or improved treatments for a range of diseases and health conditions, including diabetes, tuberculosis, influenza, coeliac disease, and cancers such as leukaemia, and to find new weapons for the fight against antibiotic-resistant ‘superbug’ bacteria.
Dr Tom Caradoc-Davies, Principal Scientist on the MX beamlines at the Australian Synchrotron, says the two MX beamlines are essential tools for drug development and are used by hundreds of researchers every year