UPDATES ON ALZHEIMERS RESEARCH Dr. Dung Trinh
n neuroscience research, a new direction in I Alzheimer’s clinical trials is to detect the disease early enough to possibly prevent it from progressing. Now, more and more research companies, including Irvine Clinical Research (ICR), are shifting their focus to trying to find and identify Alzheimer’s while symptoms are still mild or even before symptoms begin to appear.
participants have shown a reduction in amyloid plaque in their brain based on PET scan data, and have also shown improvement in memory testing compared to a placebo group. These are incredibly positive signs, and I think we are headed in the right direction.
During the last seventeen years in Alzheimer’s research, over 150 studies have been conducted without any success to find a treatment or a cure for the disease. In fact, since 2003, no new medication for Alzheimer’s treatment has been approved by the FDA. A handful of the existing medications can only treat the symptoms, but cannot prevent, slow down or cure the disease. With no successful therapy, Alzheimer’s has become the third leading cause of death in Orange County. We have been successful in treating conditions such as cancer, heart disease, and stroke, but have made little strides in medications or treatments for Alzheimer’s. However, the last few decades of research have not been in vain. The past clinical trials, though not fruitful in producing a treatment, have taught us that we need to start our research at the early stages of the disease to try to detect the symptoms early or before they occur. By the time people go to the doctor with symptoms of memory loss from Alzheimer’s, approximately 10-15 years of silent brain damage has already occurred. Many patients enter clinical trials already in the moderate stage of Alzheimer’s. This delay in detection is possibly the reason behind many unsuccessful clinical trials. The new paradigm shift in Alzheimer’s research is to stop the disease by reaching people in the earlier stages of memory loss, diagnosed with mild Alzheimer’s or MCI (Mild Cognitive Impairment). Prevention trials exist for patients who have not been diagnosed yet. This is the direction that our team at ICR and I are working on.
Photo source: © 2014 WebMD, LLC. All rights reserved.
———For more information, visit www.healthybrainclub.com. To find resources on Alzheimer’s in Orange County, visit www.alzoc.org .
Dr. Trinh is Chief Medical Officer at Irvine Clinical Research. He is also a member of the Board of Directors of Alzheimer’s Orange County. He can be reached at dung.trinh@alzoc.org .
In one study recently published, Monoclonal Antibodies (MCA) were used to direct the immune system to recognize and detect brain amyloid as “the bad guy”. After three years of medication treatment in this trial,
9
