The researchers tested this theory by making tiny structural changes to this grooved area, and found this seemed to neutralise the enzyme's action.

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The new class of drugs - DFSAs - permanently bind to the enzyme, blocking its action and stopping it from spreading further, the journal Science reported.

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Drugs that stop the action of cholinesterase, the enzyme that breaks down acetylcholine, are useful in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease.

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Inhibitors work by curbing the action of the angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE), which governs the release of angiotensin-2.

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These work by binding chemically to that enzyme's active site to inhibit its action. (Protease cuts the raw chain of virus protein produced by a subverted cell into functional molecules.) However, the mechanism is not quite identical.

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Scientists aren't exactly sure why the Cox-2s could fight cancer, although it appears much of their action lies in the inhibition of the Cox-2 enzyme, which is also involved in swelling.

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