Scientists at King’s College London have found a new way to fight Alzheimer’s disease. They tested a drug called KCL‑286, which was first made for spinal‑cord injuries. The drug has already passed safety tests in people.
Why This Matters
Professor Jonathan Corcoran said the drug is taken by mouth and already proved safe in Phase 1 trials. That means it could move to human studies much faster than most new medicines.
Looking Past Amyloid and Tau
Alzheimer’s is known for two sticky proteins called amyloid‑beta and tau. Most medicines try to clear these proteins, but they only help a little.
Researchers now think other problems happen early, too. Two of them are damaged DNA and swelling (inflammation) in the brain. Both appear before the proteins build up.
In mouse experiments, KCL‑286 fixed the DNA damage and lowered the inflammation. By hitting more than one problem at once, the drug could work better than treatments that only target amyloid or tau.
Dr. Maria Goncalves, who led the drug work, explained that the medicine acts on two early steps of the disease. She called it a “disease‑modifying” approach because it may slow the illness instead of just easing symptoms.
How KCL‑286 Works
The drug turns on a protein that belongs to the retinoic‑acid pathway. This pathway helps the body use vitamin A. When the pathway is broken, amyloid‑beta can form more easily.
KCL‑286 was already known to repair broken DNA strands that cause nerve pain. The scientists thought it might do the same in Alzheimer’s, where DNA strands snap completely, like a rope that breaks in two.
Professor Corcoran said the drug helps the cell fix these broken strands, which is a key part of the disease.
A Drug With New Purpose
Earlier work by the same team showed that injuries to the spinal cord and Alzheimer’s share some molecular tricks. That clue led them to test KCL‑286 on brain cells.
Even though the results are from mice, the fact that KCL‑286 already cleared Phase 1 safety testing for another condition could speed up future human trials. Researchers hope the drug might give similar help to people with Alzheimer’s.