An artificial molecule that could slow down the development of Alzheimer’s disease has been developed

A team of Israeli scientists from the Technion Israel Institute of Technology has paved the way for better treatment of Alzheimer’s Disease.

Professor Galia Maayan, along with doctoral student Anastasia Behar from the Faculty of Chemistry at the university, collaborated with Professor Christelle Hureau of The French National Centre for Scientific Research in discovering a molecule that can break down the build-up of copper in the brain that can cause disease.

An accumulation of copper has long been known to cause degenerative illnesses, like Alzheimer’s, due to its ability in preventing toxic proteins from leaving the brain.

The molecule – named P3 – that they have created works to bind the copper ions together and extract them. Vitally, it manages to do this without simultaneously binding zinc ions, which are needed for normal brain functioning.

Despite early promising results, the team have made it clear that they plan to take “the base” and ‘further develop’ it into something even better.

Their findings were published in the weekly peer-reviewed scientific journal, Andewandte Chemie.