Long-Term Care Survey Alert

A new drug targeting the "sticky" brain deposits or plaques seen in the brains of people with Alzheimers disease will soon be tested for safety.

Preliminary tests show the drug, called CPHPC, can resolve amyloid plaques, which scientists now believe accumulate because the bodys immune system cannot break them down normally.

The research was published in the May 16 issue of Nature by medical scientists at the Royal Free and University College Medical School in London. The researchers note that amyloid protein buildup is always found in Alzheimers disease, although researchers have not proven conclusively that it actually causes the disease.

CPHPC breaks the chemical bond between the amyloid and serum amyloid component or SAP, allowing the body to dispose of the material as a waste product.

Researchers also believe the drug may be useful in treating Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, a progressive neurological disease that also involves an unexplained buildup of abnormal proteins in the brain.