Scientists in Australia have developed a marvel molecule that fights one of the main causes of inflammatory diseases and could be the key to improved treatments for diseases like Alzheimer's, arthritis and multiple sclerosis.
Researchers at University of Queensland, in collaboration with an international team, worked to develop the molecule that could lead to safer, cheaper treatments. The molecule known as MCC950 could help prevent inflammation in immune cells, Matt Cooper of the University's Institute for Molecular Bioscience was quoted as saying by the ABC.
"It is one of the first molecules we've ever seen that can attack this complex we call the inflammasome - and that's in every one of our immune cells, it's a key part of our response to infection," he said.
Stating that the molecule was tested on animals and blood samples from patients in the US, Cooper said, "Patients have donated blood samples, these are patients with a very severe form of inflammation called Muckle-Wells syndrome".
Informing that the new molecule could be taken orally and would be cheaper to produce than current protein-based treatments, Cooper said, the molecule is very small and passes from the gut into bloodstream very quickly.
It was not clear whether the molecule could cure inflammatory diseases or just treat the symptoms, he added. The study is a global venture with scientists from the US, Trinity College in Dublin and Germany.
The research was published in the journal Nature Medicine.
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