Kelly Summers and supervisor Graham George at the Canadian Light Source. David Stobbe/ Supplied

U of S research team shedding light on potential new Alzheimer’s drugs

A USask research team is working on potential new drugs that could help those affected by Alzheimer's disease by targeting metals in areas of the brain.

By Brady Ratzlaff

Trial and error — a phrase Kelly Summers lives by.

Especially while her team progresses their research on potential drugs that could help those affected by Alzheimer’s disease, reports Global News.

“The idea behind these drugs is that they would target those metals in areas of the brain,” said the University of Saskatchewan chemistry PhD student.

“Where they have accumulated and try to restore the balance within the brain.”

That metal is copper.

She says in Alzheimer’s patients the levels of copper hit toxic levels forming plaques in the brain.

“It’s really striking the difference the mass or size of the brain of an Alzheimer’s patient is than a normal, healthy human brain,” she said.

U of S Geological Sciences professor and supervisor of the team, Graham George (DSc'19), says Kelly’s work “is paving the way for understanding how the drugs based molecules function and interact with copper.”

Currently, testing is limited to lab mice.

“This might help Alzheimer’s victims by removing some of their toxicity of the amyloid plaques,” he said.

Read more at https://globalnews.ca/news.