New drug combination doubles down on Alzheimer disease treatments

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A new study finds that combining the current medications for Alzheimer disease with small molecules derived from micronutrients found in grapes, berries, peanuts, and turmeric is a safer and more effective way to treat the disease.

Individuals with Alzheimer disease have a buildup of toxic amyloid proteins in the brain. Researchers from the School of Pharmacy at the University of Waterloo combined amyloid-destroying small molecules with anti-amyloid antibodies that are already used in Alzheimer disease treatment. They found that it neutralized the clumping of proteins that accumulate in the brain, leading to better outcomes.

Alzheimer disease is the major cause of dementia. Dementia affects nearly 750,000 people in Canada, with a million cases expected by 2030. Alzheimer disease has no cure, and current medications only relieve a patient’s symptoms. Anti-amyloid antibody therapies on their own can slow the disease, but they also come with risks that can be fatal, including brain swelling and bleeding.

“We already know the small molecules resveratrol or curcumin, which are found in some common foods, block the buildup of amyloid,” said Dr. Praveen Nekkar Rao, a professor in the School of Pharmacy at Waterloo. “What’s new and exciting is our combination of these molecules with the anti-amyloid antibodies. This approach could allow clinicians to use lower doses of antibodies, potentially reducing the risk of serious treatment-related side effects.”

Since there are few effective treatments for Alzheimer disease, researchers at Waterloo studied whether using two treatments together could work better than using just one. They chose resveratrol and curcumin because they are natural compounds known to reduce amyloid buildup and inflammation.

“I was inspired by chemotherapy, which involves taking multiple medications for effective treatment,” Nekkar Rao said. “Alzheimer’s is a complex disease, but there are very few combination therapy approaches. Our results show that the way forward is definitely combination therapy.”

The researchers emphasize that the study does not suggest that people should start consuming resveratrol or curcumin to prevent or treat dementia. You would have to consume an unsafe amount in order to reach the brain. The next phase of the research will focus on designing next-generation drugs that can reach the brain more effectively, interact favorably with amyloids and pair seamlessly with antibody treatments.

The study appears in ACS Chemical Neuroscience.

Source: News Release
University of Waterloo
April 9, 2026