Promising Alzheimer's drug 'clears early hurdle'

Conclusion The road to the launch of a new drug treatment is long, and this latest trial represents one early step along the path. It's encouraging that the drug did what researchers thought it would do in terms of reducing amyloid plaque in the spinal fluid, and that it didn't seem to cause serious side effects. However, there's still a way to go before we know whether it's safe and effective for people with Alzheimer's disease. The phase 1 trial is primarily set up to assess safety and tolerability, and get an idea of what dose to use – not to test if it works. This phase 1 trial included just 32 people, two of whom dropped out or were excluded, who took the drug for seven days. These developmental studies have to be carried out so researchers can learn whether it makes sense to go ahead with larger studies. But we can't place too much weight on the results of small studies, as so many questions remain unanswered, such as: Does reducing amyloid beta in the spinal fluid also reduce plaques of amyloid beta in the brain? Does reducing amyloid beta plaques in the brain slow or reverse the mental decline seen in Alzheimer's disease? Does verubecestat have serious side effects that are not common enough to show up when tested on just 30 people? The clinical trials now underway will look at thousands of people for up to two years. The studies will look not just at what happens to people's amyloid beta levels, but what happens to their memory and thinking abilitie...
Source: NHS News Feed - Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Mental health Neurology Older people Source Type: news