Applications for Treatment of Neurodegenerative Diseases

Hallmark of neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and prion diseases is aggregation of various proteins, which accumulate in the brain. The early stages of aggregation are responsible for toxicity of the protein to neurons. Later, the protein precipitates out from the system and can be unavailable for its original purpose. The diseases are accompanied with higher oxidative stress and accumulation of various metals. Since acridines can interact with proteins, they can influence the aggregation process or lead to dissociation of the aggregates. Furthermore, acridines can inhibit various enzymes involved in neurodegenerative diseases. In order to tackle multiple factors involved in neurodegenerative diseases, acridine conjugates with anti-oxidants, metal chelators, or anion binders are constructed. Moreover, the reader can see how subtle alterations of acridine structure can serve for detection of prion strains i.e. most probably various conformations of pathogenic proteins.