Rember is an investigational drug being developed by startup TauRx Therapeutics that has been shown in early clinical trials to be an inhibitor of Tau protein aggregation.^[1][2] One active ingredient is methylthioninium chloride (MTC), a form of methylene blue.^[3] The drug is of potential interest for the treatment of patients with Alzheimer's disease. Its development appears to be based on claim 7 of US patent 6953794 Inhibition of Tau-Tau Association. TauRx Therapeutics has suggested that the mechanism by which methylene blue might delay or reverse neurodegeneration in Alzheimer's disease is as an inhibitor of Tau protein aggregation. While methylene blue arguably has an effect on Tau aggregation, it also has an effect on mitochondrial function which is likely to play an important role. In vitro studies suggest that methylene blue might be an effective remedy for both Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease by enhancing key mitochondrial biochemical pathways. It can disinhibit and increase complex IV, whose inhibition correlates with Alzheimer's disease. ^[4]

2008 clinical trial results

The University of Aberdeen held a Phase IIb clinical trial^[6][5] on 321 people with mild Alzheimer's disease in the United Kingdom and Singapore and found that taking the drug 3 times a day over a period of 50 weeks slows down the development of Alzheimer's disease by about 81%. ^[7]

The patients were split into four groups: one group taking a dose of 30mg, another taking a dose of 60mg, a third taking a dose of 100mg and the fourth taking a placebo. The 60mg dosage gave the best results, giving an 81% reduction in mental degression compared to those on the placebo. Only those on the placebo experienced a decline in mental function.

See also

• Alzheimer's dsease
• Tau protein

References