Existing dementia treatments focus on reducing the consequences of this structural damage but have enjoyed only moderate success. Now, an Australian biotech company, Filamon Limited, has announced its breakthrough treatment, ALPHA-003, which is aimed at halting the progression of dementia by preventing microtubular destruction.
“The underlying problem with most forms of dementia is the destruction of a key structural component of brain cells known as microtubules,” said Associate Professor Kieran Scott, Professor of Oncology at Western Sydney University, and co-founder of Filamon. “These long, hollow tubes are vital to healthy brain function. In dementia, these microtubules degrade, resulting in the death of brain cells.