Wednesday, September 27, 2000
Researchers making progress
By Peggy O'Farrell
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Effective new treatments and promising research have given rise to this optimism among experts: Alzheimer's disease may soon become a thing of the past.
Consider this:
• A vaccine that eliminates buildup of neural plaques that lead to dementia is being tested in the United States and the United Kingdom. Early results look promising.
Elan Pharmaceuticals announced last year that its injected vaccine stopped the formation of plaques in the brains of mice genetically engineered to develop the structures. And a study released today /by researchers at Harvard University and Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston announces a nasal vaccine that also helps stop the formation of plaques.
• Large-scale studies are under way nationally to determine whether already-available medications could help prevent Alzheimer's. Researchers want to know if vitamin E, gingko biloba and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs like ibuprofen can reduce the risk of developing the disease.
• Congress's decision earlier this year to award an additional $50 million for Alzheimer's research. Specifically, the money will go to drug research and clinical trials in an effort to speed up the search for a cure.
It's “a very exciting time” to be an Alzheimer's researcher, says Dr. Bill Thies, a pharmacologist and the vice president of medical and scientific affairs for the Alzheimer's Association in Chicago.
Scientists could have results from the various trials now under way within two to three years. But if the vaccine proves effective, it might not be available for another five to seven years, he says.
Researchers “know a huge amount” about Alzheimer's disease, Dr. Thies says, but there's still much basic science to be discovered about how the disease works and what triggers the buildup of proteins in the brain .
“It's like having a very complicated jigsaw puzzle and we have some of the pieces and we even know how some of the pieces fit together, but we don't know what the final picture is,” he says.
A big piece of that puzzle is still missing.
“The most important thing we still need to learn is what's going to be the most effective approach to limiting the progression of the disease. That's something that we really do want to close in on as quickly as we can.”
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