{"id":478888,"date":"2026-06-15T19:50:12","date_gmt":"2026-06-15T19:50:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/478888\/"},"modified":"2026-06-15T19:50:12","modified_gmt":"2026-06-15T19:50:12","slug":"experimental-copper-based-drug-clears-alzheimers-plaques-and-boosts-memory-in-mice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/478888\/","title":{"rendered":"Experimental Copper-Based Drug Clears Alzheimer\u2019s Plaques and Boosts Memory in Mice"},"content":{"rendered":"

Copper diacetyl bis(4-methyl-3-thiosemicarbazone), or Cu(ATSM), restored a key waste-removal system in the brain, reducing toxic amyloid-beta buildup and improving spatial memory in lab models of Alzheimer\u2019s disease, according to a team of researchers at Monash University.<\/p>\n

\"Using<\/a><\/p>\n

Using the APP\/PS1 mouse model of familial Alzheimer\u2019s disease, Pyun et al. investigated the effect of Cu(ATSM) on brain microvascular abundance and function of P-glycoprotein and the associated effects on exogenous amyloid-beta clearance, brain amyloid burden, and cognitive function. Image credit: Pyun et al., doi: 10.1021\/acschemneuro.6c00252.<\/p>\n

Alzheimer\u2019s disease is driven by the buildup of toxic proteins called amyloid-beta.<\/p>\n

Normally, the brain flushes these out into the bloodstream through the blood-brain barrier.<\/p>\n

In Alzheimer\u2019s, the pumps doing the heavy lifting, called P-glycoprotein, weaken significantly, clogging the drain and trapping the toxic proteins in the brain.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe treatment successfully engages the brain\u2019s blood vessels to lower toxic protein levels, which results in behavioral benefits,\u201d said Dr. Jae Pyun, lead author of a paper<\/a> published in the journal ACS Chemical Neuroscience.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is the first study to show that Cu(ATSM) can increase the abundance of P-glycoprotein clearance pumps in an Alzheimer\u2019s model, by 24.1%, effectively linking the repair of the blood-brain barrier to a reduction in toxic proteins and improved cognitive function.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBy improving the pumps, the brain can finally clear out the trapped waste.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOver 56 days, the treatment reduced toxic amyloid-beta by 42% and improved spatial learning by nearly 44%.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe compound has strong potential to quickly transition into human clinics because it has already undergone safety evaluations for other diseases,\u201d added Professor Joseph Nicolazzo, senior author of the paper.<\/p>\n

\u201cCu(ATSM) is a copper compound with anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective properties that has already progressed to clinical testing for conditions like Parkinson\u2019s and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause reducing amyloid burden is clinically proven to improve functional outcomes, these preclinical results strongly support the rationale for testing this drug in early symptomatic Alzheimer\u2019s disease.\u201d<\/p>\n

While Cu(ATSM) reduced amyloid buildup, the researchers are still mapping the exact biological routes the proteins take to leave the brain.<\/p>\n

Beyond repairing the blood-brain barrier, they suspect the copper treatment may empower the brain\u2019s own immune cells, called microglia, to consume and degrade the toxic plaques.<\/p>\n

\u201cFuture studies will focus on tracking the precise clearance mechanisms to find how the proteins exit the brain into the bloodstream,\u201d they said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe current findings establish a strong foundation for exploring biometal therapies like Cu(ATSM) to combat blood vessel dysfunction and memory loss in Alzheimer\u2019s disease.\u201d<\/p>\n

_____<\/p>\n

Jae Pyun et al. Cu(ATSM) Restores Blood-Brain Barrier Abundance of P-Glycoprotein and Improves Cognitive Function in the APP\/PS1 Mouse Model of Alzheimer\u2019s Disease. ACS Chem. Neurosci, published online May 30, 2026; doi: 10.1021\/acschemneuro.6c00252<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Copper diacetyl bis(4-methyl-3-thiosemicarbazone), or Cu(ATSM), restored a key waste-removal system in the brain, reducing toxic amyloid-beta buildup and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":478889,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[3135,241040,105482,1596,13278,13449,4201,241041,134,6805,61824,111,139,69,241042],"class_list":["post-478888","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-health","tag-alzheimers-disease","tag-beta-amyloid","tag-blood-brain-barrier","tag-brain","tag-cognition","tag-cognitive-function","tag-copper","tag-cuatsm","tag-health","tag-memory","tag-mouse","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-p-glycoprotein"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/478888","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=478888"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/478888\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/478889"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=478888"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=478888"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=478888"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}