Unraveling Alzheimer’s: Simple small molecules could untangle complex disease

Small Molecules for Metal-Amyloid Species in the Brain. Credit: Mi Hee Lim and Joseph J. Braymer - Click above image for higher resolution. ANN ARBOR, Mich.—New molecular tools developed at the University of Michigan show promise for "cleansing" the brain of amyloid plaques, implicated in Alzheimer's disease. A hallmark of Alzheimer's disease—a neurodegenerative disease with no cure—is the aggregation of protein-like bits known as amyloid-beta peptides into clumps in the brain called plaques. These plaques and their intermediate messes can cause cell death, leading to the disease's devastating symptoms of memory loss and other mental difficulties. The mechanisms responsible for the formation of these misfolded proteins and their associations with Alzheimer's disease are not entirely understood, but it's thought that copper and zinc ions are somehow involved. The research, led by assistant professor Mi Hee Lim, was published online Dec.