Researchers develop compound 10 to slow Alzheimer's disease progression

Researchers from ETH Zurich have developed an active ingredient that slows down the progression of typical Alzheimer’s symptoms in mice. This new substance protects nerve cells and could in future alleviate the suffering of Alzheimer’s patients. The active ingredient also shows anti-aging effects.

"Compound 10" is how Ursula Quitterer refers to the chemical compound that her team has developed and which could slow down the progression of Alzheimer's disease. Quitterer is Professor of Molecular Pharmacology at ETH Zurich and has so far tested the active ingredient first on mice, revealing promising effects: the typical death of nerve cells seen in dementia is significantly slower, and the animals survive for longer.

The new substance is the result of research that began almost 20 years ago, when Quitterer received tissue samples from patients of a doctor and colleague at the Ain Shams University Hospital in Cairo. These were samples of brain tissue that the doctor had removed during tumor surgery – both on people diagnosed with dementia and non-dementia patients.

Quitterer set about working on these samples – but to understand what exactly she did with them, we first need a bit of background. Then, as now, the main focus of her research was a bodily enzyme that performs a vital role in many human cells: GRK2. As a regulatory protein, this enzyme helps cells respond correctly to signals, stress and strain. As well as in the heart, for example, it is also active in the brain – where it supports the function of nerve cells.