Posted on 01/08/2005 9:10:41 AM PST by aculeus
A DRUG that could reverse the symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease for the first time is to be tested by sufferers of dementia across Britain.
Until now, drugs used to treat the devastating disease have only delayed the onset of symptoms.
But researchers hope the new drug could have an impact on the progression of a disease that affects more than 400,000 men and women in the UK.
The £1.4 million clinical trial centres on a drug developed by TauRx Therapeutics, a company headed by Claude Wischik, Professor of Psychiatric Geratology and Old Age Psychiatry at Aberdeen University.
Professor Wischik, who has spent 20 years researching Alzheimer’s disease, said: "The brains of patients with Alzheimer’s disease have two abnormal structures - one of those is neurofibrillary tangles which contributes directly to the dementing process and ultimately kills brain cells. This process begins some 30 years before the onset of clinical dementia and accelerates over time.
"This trial aims to see if it is possible to dissolve the tangles of proteins in the brain that German neuropsychiatrist Alzheimer discovered. These tangles have been shown to correlate with dementia.
"Our drug is different to existing treatments for Alzheimer’s disease, some of which mask the progression of the disease. We want to see if it can modify the course of the disease, following promising results in laboratory tests."
Doctors have begun recruiting patients, who have already been referred to the Old Age Psychiatric Service, for the drug trial. A total of 400 patients are expected to take part in the study from centres across Britain, including two NHS Grampian hospitals, the Royal Cornhill Hospital in Aberdeen and the Ugie Hospital in Peterhead. Other centres involved in the trial are Birmingham, Cardiff, Stoke, Bury St Edmunds, Huddersfield, London and Ipswich.
Dr Douglas Fowlie, a consultant psychiatrist who is leading the clinical research in NHS Grampian, said: "This drug could be fundamentally very important. The science so far suggests that it begins to reverse the processes that cause Alzheimer’s disease.
"It is a potentially very exciting development. All the treatments currently in use are treatments that modify the symptoms and delay the progress of the disease at best, as opposed to actually undoing the pathology that is there in the first place."
The research team is expected to report the findings of its study by this time next year and, if successful, TauRx Therapeutics could then move to seek approval to license the drug to be made across the globe in a potentially lucrative money spinner for both Aberdeen University and the company, which are co-funding the research.
A spokeswoman for the university said it was hoped that the new drug would have "great benefits" to patients clinically diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease.
She added: "Dementia currently affects over 750,000 people in the UK. It affects one person in 20 over the age of 65 and one person in five over the age of 80. Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia and in Grampian alone the care costs for dementia are £100 million a year."
Thanks aculeus for this GOOD NEWS.
'" ... to dissolve the tangles of proteins in the brain ... .
"We want to see if it can modify the course of the disease, following promising results in laboratory tests." ...
Dr Douglas Fowlie, a consultant psychiatrist who is leading the clinical research in NHS Grampian, said: "This drug could be fundamentally very important. The science so far suggests that it begins to reverse the processes that cause Alzheimer’s disease.
" ... to actually undoing the pathology that is there in the first place."'
Hope it works
jm
Here's to hoping that one day, Alzheimer's will be a thing of the past.
Wonderful news - just e-mailed the article to my mother!
Good news. We all have to die sooner or later, but no one should have to go through Alzheimers.
Does this mean the end of DU as we know it?
Here's an article on a natural substance which is being tested:
United Press International
Thursday, December 30, 2004
LOS ANGELES, Dec 29, 2004 (United Press International via COMTEX) -- A spice used for thousands of years, curry, may be a powerful new weapon in fighting Alzheimer's Disease, researchers said.
Researchers from UCLA and the Department of Veterans Affairs said their study of curcumin, the yellow pigment in curry, found it broke up existing beta amyloid on rats' brains and helped prevent accumulation of the destructive plaque.
Reporting in the Journal of Biological Chemistry, the team said curcumin is more effective in stopping the protein fragments from forming than many other drugs being tested to treat the disease that affects 4 million Americans and millions more worldwide.
"The prospect of finding a safe and effective new approach to both prevention and treatment of Alzheimer's disease is tremendously exciting," said Gregory Cole, the main UCLA investigator.
"Curcumin has been used for thousands of years as a safe anti-inflammatory in a variety of ailments as part of Indian traditional medicine," Cole said. Recent animal studies "support a growing interest in its possible use for diseases of aging involving oxidative damage and inflammation like Alzheimer's, cancer and heart disease."
Cole called for human trials of curcumin to establish safe and effective doses.
No. The drug is a treatment for Alzheimers, not Stupidity. The DUers are out of luck on this one.
Let's hope it doesn't have any side effects or no drug company that doesn't want to be bankrupt will touch it. John Edwards of course could cash in in such a case.
This is GOOD news. My family knows first hand that alzheimer's is a cruel disease. I pray more drugs like this will make Alzheimer's a thing of the past.
Fingers crossed. Eh? What's that? Why are my fingers crossed?
That would be great if this medicine could undo the damage years before there were symptoms. It is so cruel that while people are living longer all it means for some is that they will spend the last years of their lives in a state of dementia and helplessness.
While this would be a remarkable breakthrough, let's get real. The chances of success for any pharmaceutical compound are remote, and the development costs are very high ($800 million in the U.S). Then there are inevitable side-effects (we are talking about a drug hat changes brain chemistry) that the lawyers will pounce on.
I consulted to the pharma industry for many years, and worked with a development team that created a blockbuster drug that you all would know. I am also a psychologist working with geriatric patients. No one wants this drug to work more than me, but it's important that we do not raise false hopes for patients.
This is nothing less than a miracle.
I too have pharma experience and posted this without my own opinion ... which is pretty close to yours.
What a coinkydink! I'm making Curry Chicken tonight!
You apparently have precognition. Do you eat a lot of curry? ;-)
Not really, but when I bake chicken legs, I cover 'em with curry and chili powder instead of breadcrumbs. 400 degrees for one hour. Excellent!
bump
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.