A method of treating an α-synucleopathy, comprising the administration of a therapeutic effective amount of a 1,2,4-thiadiazole derivative to a patient in need thereof, optionally in combination with one or more pharmaceutically acceptable carriers, and optionally in combination with a therapeutic amount of one or more drugs selected from the group consisting of neuro-protective agents and α-synuclein deposition inhibitors, wherein said α-synucleopathy is selected from the group consisting of Parkinson's disease, diffuse Lewy body disease, traumatic brain injury, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Niemann-Pick disease, Hallervorden-Spatz syndrome, Down syndrome, neuroaxonal dystrophy, multiple system atrophy and Alzheimer's disease and wherein said 1,2,4-thiadiazole derivative is according to the structural formula (A)
- wherein the divalent group schematically represented by the structural formula (A′)
- includes an optionally mono-substituted or poly-substituted, saturated or partly unsaturated heterocyclic ring with at least two nitrogen atoms in the said heterocyclic ring and with a total of 5 to 7 atoms in the said heterocyclic ring, and further wherein:
- R6 is a substituent independently selected from the group consisting of oxo and C1-4 alkyl;
- n is selected from the group consisting of 0, 1, 2 and 3;
- R1, R2, R3, R4 and R5 are each independently selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, C1-4 alkyl, C1-4 alkoxy, aryl, aryloxy, alkyloxy, aryl-C1-4 alkloxy, heteroaryloxy, benzenesulfonate, amino, hydroxy, nitro, trifluoromethyl, trifluoromethoxy and halogen, or any two adjacent substituents selected from the group consisting of R1, R2, R3, R4 and R5 form, together with the phenyl ring carbon atoms to which they are attached, a saturated or unsaturated ring fused to said phenyl ring and having from 5 to 7 ring members, said saturated or unsaturated ring optionally having one or two oxygen atoms and being optionally substituted with one or more halogen atoms;
- R7, R8, R9, R10, and R11 are each independently selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, C1-10 alkyl, C1-6 alkoxy, C1-4 alkylthio, C2-4 alkenyl, C3-8 cycloalkyl, aryl, hydroxy, acetyl, nitro, trifluoromethyl and halogen;
- or any two adjacent substituents selected from the group consisting of R7, R8, R9, R10 and R11 form, together with the phenyl ring carbon atoms to which they are attached, a saturated or unsaturated ring fused to said phenyl ring and having from 5 to 7 ring members, said saturated or unsaturated ring optionally having one or two heteroatoms independently selected from the group consisting of oxygen, sulfur and nitrogen;
- and each of said C1-6 alkyl, C1-6 alkoxy, aryl or fused ring is optionally substituted with one or more halogen atoms;
- R12 and R13 are each independently selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, C1-6 alkyl, aryl-C1-4 alkyl, aryl and N-containing heterocyclic rings, or R12 and R13 together form a C3-6 cycloalkyl or heterocyclic group;
- and
- X is a linking moiety selected from the group consisting of —C(═O)—;
- —S(═O)2—;
- divalent saturated non-cyclic hydrocarbon groups having from 1 to 6 atoms in the main chain, each of said atoms in the main chain being independently selected from the group consisting of carbon, nitrogen and sulfur, each of said carbon atoms in the main chain being optionally substituted with one or more substituents independently selected from the group consisting of oxo, thioxo, C1-4 alkyl and halogen, and each of said sulfur atoms in the main chain being optionally substituted with oxo, provided that the number of heteroatoms in the main chain of said divalent saturated or unsaturated non-cyclic hydrocarbon group is 0, 1 or 2, wherein a first terminal atom of the main chain is connected to the structural formula (A′) and a second terminal atom of the main chain is connected to the
- group of structural formula (A):
- and divalent saturated or unsaturated heterocyclic groups having from 2 to 6 carbon atoms and from 1 to 3 heteroatoms independently selected from the group consisting of oxygen, sulfur and nitrogen in the said heterocyclic group;
- or X together with one of R7 and R11 forms a saturated or unsaturated ring having from 5 to 7 ring members and being fused to the phenyl ring bearing said one of R7 and R11, said saturated or unsaturated ring optionally having one or two heteroatoms independently selected from the group consisting of oxygen, sulfur and nitrogen, and said saturated or unsaturated ring optionally having one or more substituents independently selected from the group consisting of C1-4 alkyl and trifluoromethyl or is selected from the group consisting of —CO—CH═CH—, —CH2—CH═CH— and —SO2—CH═CH—.