Nymox Pharmaceutical Corporation is pursuing innovative new strategies to develop treatments for Alzheimer's disease according to a company release.

"It is widely recognized that new approaches are vitally needed in the fight against Alzheimer's disease," said Dr Michael Munzar, the Company's medical director. He added, "Nymox has a long term commitment to developing innovative and unique treatments for Alzheimer's disease."

"Statin drugs show great promise as a potentially safe and effective preventive treatment for reducing the risk of AD. They are widely available, have a good safety profile, and in important studies have shown significant promise in reducing the risk of Alzheimer's disease. To begin with, the best strategy against Alzheimer's disease may be to prevent, reduce or slow its onset and so spare patients, families and the healthcare system much of the tremendous burdens and tragedies that accompany this illness," said Dr. Munzar.

"Nymox also is pursuing new approaches to the treatment of Alzheimer's disease," said Dr. Munzar. "Our proprietary drug development programmes include drugs that target neural thread proteins. We believe that stopping their destructive effect may hold the key to effective treatments for Alzheimer's disease. There is significant scientific and clinical evidence implicating these brain proteins in the Alzheimer's disease process. As well, we have proprietary programs that target other potential causes of Alzheimer's disease, including spherons and spherotoxins," he added.

Nymox has many proprietary systems for compound identification and testing in AD. The Company's spheron program involves spherons, which are large protein containing bodies thought to lead to senile plagues in AD brain. Nymox scientists recently reported the discovery of spherotoxins, a new toxic culprit for brain damage in AD and a drug target for AD therapeutics, the release says.

The Company's neural thread protein (NTP) drug development programmes relate to NTP and its role in AD. Nymox's proprietary AlzheimAlert test measures NTP levels in the urine, providing important information for physicians in the diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease. The AlzheimAlert test is offered in the US from Nymox's CLIA certified reference laboratory in Maywood, NJ. Nymox also has proprietary AD therapeutics programs related to brain cell death and other novel targets.