Groundbreaking Drug NU-9 Shows Potential to Prevent Alzheimer’s
Scientists from Northwestern University have made a significant breakthrough with the development of an experimental drug, NU-9. This promising new drug has shown potential in halting the progression of Alzheimer’s disease before any symptoms begin to manifest. The study, published on December 22, 2024, in the esteemed Alzheimer’s and Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer’s Association, reveals that NU-9 dramatically reduces toxic protein buildup and brain inflammation in mice.
The compound, a small-molecule, targets a newly discovered, highly toxic form of amyloid beta oligomers. These oligomers are believed to trigger the earliest changes associated with Alzheimer’s disease. When administered daily for 60 days to pre-symptomatic mice, NU-9 significantly reduced early reactive astrogliosis—an inflammatory reaction that begins long before memory loss appears—and sharply decreased abnormal proteins linked to cognitive impairment.
“Alzheimer’s disease begins decades before its symptoms appear,” explains Daniel Kranz, the study’s first author. “By the time symptoms emerge, the underlying pathology is already advanced. This is likely a major reason many clinical trials have failed. They start far too late.”
The drug, invented by Professor Richard Silverman (who previously developed Lyrica), has already received FDA clearance in 2024 to begin human clinical trials for ALS. Researchers envision that NU-9 could function like cholesterol medication—taken preventively by people showing early biomarkers of Alzheimer’s before cognitive decline begins.
Source: ScienceDaily