Benzofuran derivatives for the treatment of CNS and other disorders

1. A compound of formula IV:

wherein either

R 6 is selected from the group consisting of —NR 3 R 4 , —R 3 , —OR 3 and halo; and

R 5 is —(CR═CR—) n (CR═CR 2 —) m R 1 ,

or

R 6 is —(CR═CR—) n (CR═CR 2 —) m R 1 ; and

R 5 is selected from the group consisting of —NR 3 R 4 , —R 3 , —OR 3 and halo,

and

further wherein m is 0 or 1, and

wherein if m is 0, n is an integer from 1-10, and if m is 1, n is an integer from 0-10,

R 1 and R 2 are independently selected from the group consisting of —H, —CN, —COOR, CONHR, CON(H)OR, —SO 3 R, —SO 2 R, —OSO 3 R, —PO 3 HR, and —OPO 3 HR, further wherein at least one of R 1 and R 2 is not —H;

each R is independently selected from —H and C 1-6 linear or branched alkyl; and

R 3 and R 4 are independently selected from the group consisting of H, substituted or unsubstituted linear or branched C 1 -C 10 alkyl, substituted or unsubstituted phenyl, substituted or unsubstituted C 6 -C 10 aryl, substituted or unsubstituted C 5 -C 10 heteroaryl, substituted or unsubstituted C 5 -C 10 cycloalkyl, and substituted or unsubstituted C 5 -C 10 heterocycloalkyl; or R 3 and R 4 attached to their N together form a ring that is substituted or unsubstituted C 5 -C 10 heterocycloalkyl;

and wherein

one of R 1 and R 2 is —CN and the other is —COOH; or

R 6 is —NR 3 R 4 , and R 3 and R 4 are substituted or unsubstituted phenyl.

2. The compound of claim 1 , wherein R 6 is selected from the group consisting of diethylamino, diphenylamino, methyl(phenyl)amino, cyclohexyl(methyl)amino, bis(4-methoxyphenyl)amino, bis(4-(tert-butyl)phenyl)amino, di(pyridin-2-yl)amino, di(pyridin-3-yl)amino, di(pyridin-4-yl)amino, piperidin-1-yl, 4-methylpiperazin-1-yl, 4-phenylpiperazin-1-yl, pyrrolidin-1-yl, and morpholino.

3. The compound of claim 1 , wherein R 6 is —R 3 or —OR 3 .

4. The compound of claim 3 , wherein R 6 is selected from the group consisting of 3′,4′-dimethoxyphenyl, tert-butyl, phenyoxy, and methoxy.

5. The compound of claim 1 , wherein R 6 is halo.

6. The compound of claim 5 , wherein R 6 is bromo.

7. A pharmaceutical composition comprising a therapeutically effective amount of a compound of claim 1 and a pharmaceutically acceptable excipient.

8. A method of treating an ocular disease in a patient suffering from said disease, comprising administering to the patient a therapeutically effective amount of the compound of claim 1 ; wherein the ocular disease is selected from the group consisting of macular degeneration, retinitis pigmentosa, retinopathy, glaucoma and cataracts.

9. A method of treating a neurodegenerative disorder or disease in a patient suffering from said disease comprising administering to the patient a therapeutically effective amount of the compound of claim 1 ; wherein the neurodegenerative disorder or disease is selected from the group consisting of Alzheimer's disease (AD), amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), motor neuron disease, Parkinson's disease, Huntington's disease, prior disease, AIDS or HIV related dementia, cerebral ischemia, cerebrovascular disease, vertebral hemorrhage, Down Syndrome, epilepsy, traumatic brain injury, chronic traumatic encephalopathy, traumatic spinal injury, Friedrich Ataxia, frontotemporal dementia, hemorrhagic stroke, Neurodegeneration with Brain Iron Accumulation, Lewy Body Dementia, ischemic stroke, multiple sclerosis, Pick's Disease, progressive supranuclear palsy, senile dementia, mild cognitive impairment, hereditary cerebral hemorrhage, traumatic ischemia attack, lead encephalopathy, subdural hematoma, radiation brain injury, Niemann-Pick Disease and neuronal ceroid lipofuscinoses.

10. A method for inhibiting or reversing protein aggregation in a patient in need thereof comprising administering to the patient a therapeutically effective amount of the compound of claim 1 .

11. The method of claim 10 , wherein the therapeutically effective amount is effective to treat a disease selected from the group consisting of type 2 diabetes mellitus, Alzheimer's disease (AD), amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), motor neuron disease, Parkinson's disease, Huntington's Disease, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease and prion disease.

12. The method of claim 10 , wherein the therapeutically effective amount is effective to treat a disease selected from the group consisting of light chain amyloidosis, familial amyloid polyneuropathies, amylin related amyloidosis, primary cutaneous amyloidosis, cerebral amyloid angiopathy, familial corneal amyloidosis and medullary carcinoma of the thyroid.

13. The compound of claim 1 , wherein R 6 is —NR 3 R 4 , and R 3 and R 4 are substituted or unsubstituted phenyl.

14. The method of claim 12 , wherein the amylin related amyloidosis is selected from AA amyloidosis and AA Inflammatory Amyloidosis.