DYRK1 (IMAGE)
Caption
DYR219 is a powerful new drug developed by Travis Dunckley and his colleagues and described in the new study. Its strength lies in the fact that it can target both of the leading pathologies associated with Alzheimer's disease--plaques, (caused by the protein amyloid beta) and tangles, (caused by the tau protein).
Further, DYR219's activity can occur early in the progression of the disease, before the formation of these pathologies, offering a better chance of preventing the advance of Alzheimer's and its destruction of cognitive function.
DYR219 inhibits a kinase known as DYRK1. In Alzheimer's and other neurodegenerative diseases, DYRK1 phosphorylates both the tau and amyloid beta proteins--key steps in the formation of plaques and tangles in the brain.
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Graphic by Shireen Dooling
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