Alzheimer’s drug ‘halts’ decline (BBC News)
Rember, or methylthioninium chloride, is the rudimentary treatment specifically designed to target the Tau tangles.
Other treatments for Alzheimer’s tend to focus on combating a waste protein in the brain, beta-amyloid, which is known to form hard plaques. The latest have being suggests targeting Tau may produce victory results.
Methylthioninium chloride is more commonly used as a blue dye in laboratory experiments.
Professor Wischik discovered it by accident 20 years ago, when a very little in a test tube led to the disappearance of the Tau protein he had been laboring on.
“We have demonstrated instead of the first time that it may be possible to arrest the passage of this disease by targeting the tangles which are highly correlated with the disease,” he said.
“We did an separation of the effect size at 24 weeks and at 50 weeks compared to the average effect volume of the current treatments and it was almost brace and a half state of things better,” he added.
Larger trials of the drug are planned to start in 2009, and researchers are also investigating whether the drug has a role in prevention of the disease in the chief place.
Professor Clive Ballard, head of research at the Alzheimer’s Society, said: “This is a major new development in the contend against insanity.
“It is the first realistic evidence that a new remedy be able to improve cognition in people with Alzheimer’s by targeting the protein tangles that cause brain cell death.
“This first modestly sized trial in humans is potentially exciting.
“It suggests the drug could be over twice as effective as any treatment that is currently available.”
Rebecca Wood, chief executive of the Alzheimer’s Research Trust, said: “In this exploratory trial, rember reduced the decline in blood flow to parts of the brain that are important for memory.
“This bodes well but we need more human trials to assess the treatment’s possible margin movables.”
She added the fact the trial was funded by a pharmaceutical company highlighted the lack of funding for Alzheimer’s research in the UK.