| abstract |
A pharmaceutical agent for treating an amyloid disease in a patient, wherein the pharmaceutical agent comprises a saccharide containing at least one substituted anionic group, or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt of the saccharide containing at least one substituted anionic group, and in preferred embodiments is a therapeutically effective amount of glucose pentasulfate. The agent is directed to amyloid diseases in general and to Alzheimer's disease in particular. The pharmaceutical agent may advantageously be combined with a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier, diluent or excipient. The pharmacological agent may be used, singly or in combination with other agents, in connection with the treatment or prevention of Alzheimer's disease, type II diabetes, or other amyloidoses. The pharmaceutical agent may be used, singly or in combination with other agents to reduce, eliminate or prevent fibrillar amyloid formation, deposition, accumulation or persistence; or to inhibit fibrillar amyloid formation or growth; or to inhibit amyloid-proteoglycan/glycosaminoglycan interactions; or to cause dissolution or disruption of preformed amyloid fibrils. Similarly, the pharmaceutical agent may be used, singly or in combination with other agents, to reduce, eliminate or prevent amyloid protein formation, deposition, accumulation or persistence, regardless of the nature of the amyloid protein involved or the clinical setting. |