Targeting amyloid disease
Alzheimer's disease and type 2 diabetes are among a number of disorders called amyloid diseases. These involve the abnormal folding of usually soluble proteins, leading to the build-up of deposits that eventually destroy the tissue in the brain in Alzheimer's, or the pancreas in diabetes. A team led by Professor Mark Pepys at the National Amyloidosis Centre has developed a drug that destabilises amyloid deposits, allowing them to be broken down. The new drug offers a new approach to treating a range of amyloid diseases.
Nature 2002; 417: 231-3