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Updated Thu. Jan. 5 2006 9:52 PM ET
CTV.ca News Staff
There is a new wave of research trying to find Alzheimer's in its earliest stages.
Flurizan may qualify as a preventative medication for patients with a high risk of developing Alzheimer's |
A study has found that a new drug has the potential to slow down and even modify the progression of Alzheimer's disease.
It's the first time a drug has been found to have the potential to actually slow down, not just treat the symptoms of the disease which affects more than 360,000 Canadians.
Alzheimer's impairs memory and basic abilities, and leads to irreversible brain cell loss.
The new drug, Flurizan, is not on the general market yet, but was studied in patients who are experiencing mild to moderate stages of the disease.
"As a phase 2 clinical trial, these results are preliminary, but they give some hope for the development of a new treatment for AD," said Dr. Sandra Black, co-principal investigator of the study, and head of Neurology at Sunnybrook and Women's College Health Sciences, in a release.
With further study, the researchers hope the drug may qualify as a preventative medication for patients with a high risk of developing Alzheimer's.
The researchers found the drug was beneficial to people who were experiencing the early stages of the disease. Patients who were taking the drug declined more slowly in daily functioning and global living areas such as memory, judgment and hobbies, than those who were not on the medication.
The study tracked 207 patients who were being administered the drug in Canada and the U.K. for a one year period.
The patients were in the early stages of the disease, considered mid to mild severity. Patients at that level are generally fairly independent, but tend to have trouble with activities such as handling finances.
Patients in the study were divided into three groups. Two were given the drug in either 400 or 800 mg doses, while the third group was given a placebo.
The study found the 800 mg dose to be most effective and patients at the mild stage of the disease to be most positively affected by the drug. The drug started to have effect at about the nine-month mark in the one-year study.
There appeared to be no serious side effects from the drug.
The patient groups were tested on their communication and memory abilities. They were asked to name pictures, remember a list of items and perform simple daily tasks such as addressing and stamping an envelope.
Flurizan reduces the buildup of Amyloid, a toxic protein that builds up between nerve cells in the brain, damaging and killing cells in Alzheimer's patients. This characteristic of the drug is what the researchers believe helps slow the progression.
More than 80 per cent of the patients in the study enrolled in a continuation study for another year, once the initial year was complete. And another larger-scale study is currently underway in the U.S. to further test the effectiveness of the drug, and there are plans for another trial in Canada and the Europe in 2006 to follow the U.S. study.
The study is especially significant because it covered a one-year period. Most Alzheimer's studies are done over a six-month period.