New anti-inflammatory compound could fight Alzheimer's

Scientists at the University of Manchester in Britain have developed a chemical compound that is able to block a key component of inflammatory response implicated in many cancers, Alzheimer's disease and cardiovascular disease.

"It's a tremendous starting point for a new generation of molecules which can be developed to target inflammatory disease," said one of the researchers Sally Freeman.

Inflammation is our body's response to infection and injury and it is generally beneficial promoting resistance, repair and recovery. However, when the process of inflammation is not controlled properly it becomes damaging which is what happens during chronic conditions such as Alzheimer's disease.

The new molecules inhibit a specific part of an inflammatory response called the "inflammasome", said the study published in the journal Cell Chemical Biology.

"Our new molecules specifically hit an important inflammatory mechanism that occurs in disease," David Brough said. The Manchester team used powerful biological and chemical methods to generate new and effective molecules which can now be further developed and tested.

"The discovery of these new compounds is really exciting and will allow us to further understand inflammation and disease," Brough said. "It is becoming clear that inflammation is directly involved in many diseases and this is an exciting step towards specifically targeting harmful inflammation," post-doctoral researcher Jack Rivers-Auty said.