Possible new drug to treat early Alzheimer's

By Shelby D Burns, Tue, October 18, 2011

There’s a possible treatment for Alzheimer’s on the distant horizon. A new drug, gantenerumab, being developed has removed amyloid plaques from the grains of Alzheimer’s disease patients. It’s a small study and very early in the process, but early indicators are good that there is something here which can be developed. Data has been published in Archives of Neurology by Roche Holding AG, the Swiss drug maker.

It is believed that amyloid plaque building up on the brain cause Alzheimer’s and robs those people of the ability to remember. In truth, the mechanism behind Alzheimer’s has yet to be proved and is largely speculation. It is still a difficult disease to diagnose with certainty.

Now that they have discovered gantenerumab reduces the amyloid plaque, the question is whether that will translate into clinical benefit for the patients. They need to determine if gantenerumab is safe to use and what dose levels it is most effective. Since the drug binds to and removes amyloid plaque, it is believed to be a candidate for first line treatment of early Alzheimer’s. Ideally, it would slow the progression of the disease.

“These results and especially the rapidity of the effects observed on amyloid removal are very encouraging and pave the way for the development of a novel treatment for Alzheimer’s disease,” said Luca Santarelli, head of Roche’s global neuroscience disease division. “We know amyloid accumulates for 15 years before dementia, so why should you wait to remove it?”

About 25 million people worldwide suffer from Alzheimer’s. By 2030 that number will likely increase to 63 million and by 2050 it could reach as high as 114 million.

Source: MedScape, Huffington Post

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