A Novel Alzheimer's Disease Drug Candidate Targeting Inflammation and Fatty Acid Metabolism

CAD-31 has potent neuroprotective properties in six distinct nerve cell assays that mimic toxicities observed in the old brain. Pharmacological and preliminary toxicology studies show that CAD-31 is brain penetrant and likely safe. When fed to old, symptomatic transgenic Alzheimer's disease (AD) mice starting at ten months of age for three additional months in a therapeutic model of the disease, there was a reduction in the memory deficit and brain inflammation, and an increase in the expression of synaptic proteins. Small molecule metabolic data from the brain and plasma showed that the major effect of CAD-31 is centered on fatty acid metabolism and inflammation. Pathway analysis of gene expression data showed that CAD-31 had major effects on synapse formation, AD and energy metabolism. Cortical RNA from AD, wild type, and drug-treated mice was isolated and sequenced.