A team of international researchers have developed a tweezer-like compound that targets and destroys aggregated proteins, offering hope for new drugs to treat diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.
The compound, called CLR01, prevents the formation of toxic aggregates and breaks down existing ones. Clearing out amyloid proteins slowly and gently can prevent blood vessel collapse and hemorrhages in Alzheimer's patients. This finding could also lead to new drugs for various diseases involving protein buildup.
The team only tried a few compounds before finding the very promising CLR01. It also appears to be fairly safe. Mice showed no negative side effects when they were given a daily dose of CLR01 250 times higher than the therapeutic dose for one month.
