Neurochem's Anti-Amyloid Drugs Effective In Vivo

Canadian company Neurochem, in concert with researchers at Queen's University in Kingston, Canada and Kingston General Hospital, have achieved some success with low molecular weight anionic sulphonates or sulphates in arresting amyloidogenesis in mice, according to an article in Nature Medicine (February 1995).

Kisilevsky and colleagues note that their approach addresses a fundamental factor in amyloidosis, the accumulation of proteins in beta-pleated sheets in the extracellular space, which is common to several diseases including Alzheimer's, the spongiform encephalopathies, type II diabetes and rheumatoid arthritis. The work centers on the observation that heparan sulphate interacts with inflammation-associated amyloid precursor and the beta-peptide of Alzheimer's amyloid, imparting characteristic secondary and tertiary amyloid structural features. It is this interaction that Neurochem's agents are attempting to interrupt.

Oral administration of Neurochem's agents to mice reduced murine amyloidogenesis and heparan sulphate-stimulated beta-peptide fibril aggregation. The most striking results were achieved with poly(vinylsulphonate sodium salt), which virtually abolished amyloid deposition five days later. Efficacy in a chronic model of established amyloidosis was also seen, with PVS abolishing amyloid deposition while in untreated animals deposition continued unabated.