Articles related to ALZHEIMER'S/DEMENTIA

Promising Discovery: Existing Drugs Could Be Repurposed for First Treatment of Dementia-Linked Strokes Clinical trials reveal the potential of two commonly used cardiac drugs, isosorbide mononitrate and cilostazol, to serve as novel treatment options for lacunar strokes, a leading cause of dementia. Key Points: “Now we understand more about what is triggering these small vessel strokes to attack the brain, we’ve been able to focus our efforts on treatments that can put a halt to this damage…as these drugs are already widely available for other circulatory disorders, and inexpensive, it shouldn’t take too long to move our findings from research into everyday clinical practice.” Professor Joanna Wardlaw of the University of Edinburgh and UK Dementia Research Institute

The FDA has granted approval for Otsuka Pharmaceutical’s brexpiprazole as the first drug to treat agitation in patients with Alzheimer’s disease. Agitation is a common symptom in Alzheimer’s patients, characterized by extreme aggression, restlessness, and anxiety. Previously, non-pharmacological strategies were used initially, followed by off-label use of antipsychotics and anti-depressants in severe cases. The decision to approve brexpiprazole was based on two late-stage studies demonstrating its effectiveness in calming agitated patients with Alzheimer’s, compared to a placebo. The drug was already approved for the treatment of major depressive disorder and schizophrenia in adults. This approval addresses an unmet need in the management of agitation in Alzheimer’s patients and provides healthcare professionals with a new pharmacological option. Brexpiprazole has shown significant improvement in calming agitated patients, offering a potential solution to help alleviate symptoms associated with the disease. The drug’s approval was supported by sufficient data and endorsement from an advisory panel, reinforcing its benefits outweigh the associated risks.

More trials in larger groups of patients will be required to determine whether this drug, BIIB080 (/IONIS-MAPTRx), an antisense oligonucleotide (used to stop RNA from producing a protein), leads to clinical benefit, but the phase 1 results published in Nature Medicine – with results from 46 patients – are the first indication that this method has a biological effect. BIIB080 ‘silences’ the tau protein-coding gene, known as the microtubule-associated protein tau (MAPT) gene. This inhibits the gene from being dosed and reversibly translated into protein. It will also reduce the creation of that protein, changing the course of the condition.

Frequent use of prescription meds for sleep carries an increased risk for dementia in White older adults compared with those who rarely or never used them, as described in the January issue of Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease. The study found no increased risk for dementia for those who took sleep medications “sometimes.”

Athira’s safety and efficacy trial, geared for 75 patients, will run with a smaller-than-planned 28 patient study population. The trial is for the small molecule fosgonimeton, an activator of the HGF/MET pathway, postulated to offer neuroprotective effects to improve brain function in patients with Parkinson’s dementia.

A blood test focusing on a set of eight autoantibody markers was 97% effective in detecting the presence of Alzheimer’s disease-related pathology up to 10 years before onset of clinical symptoms. According to the investigators, “this is the first blood test to accurately detect Alzheimer’s-related pathology several years before either clinical symptoms or more expensive and invasive tests can identify the disease.”