Scientists Say Alzheimer’s Drugs Have Limited Value and a Broader Research Approach May be Necessary
February 22, 2010 - Videos/Audio (including Podcasts, Vodcasts)
Scientists are discovering that they “need a broader scientific perspective on late-life dementia,” because drug treatments aren’t making significant progress in slowing the disease, according to the December 19, 2009 announcement of an editorial in the Journal of the American Medical Association. This has significant impact for the debate over the best way to provide long-term services and supports for Americans.
If we are unable to develop an effective treatment for Alzheimer’s disease, many more people will need LTSS as the huge baby boomer generation reaches retirement age and beyond. A recent study of a promising drug, tarenflurbil, showed it slowed cognitive decline in mice, according to the announcement. However, it did not help humans. This has been true of several other drugs. “Since dementia research began, scientists have narrowly focused on Alzheimer’s disease and its specific characteristics,” the announcement says, quoting Dr. Eric B. Larson, executive director of the Group Health Research Institute in Seattle. “But we’re now starting to see that dementia is a confluence of three common disease processes—Alzheimer’s disease, vascular brain injury, and Lewy body disease—any one of which can be a target for prevention or treatment in efforts to relieve the burden of late-life dementia.”
Another study showed that “higher levels of leptin—a hormone involved in fat metabolism—is linked to reduced risk of Alzheimer’s disease, “the announcement said. “This is a surprising new association—the magnitude and strength of which is striking,” says Dr. Larson. “If it’s confirmed, it could lead to further research on how lifestyle and other factors like habitual exercise figure in the prevention and treatment of age-related decline and diseases such as Alzheimer’s.” Dr. Larson also leads the Adult Changes in Thought (ACT) study—a joint project between Group Health Research Institute and the University of Washington. ACT focuses on finding ways to delay or prevent dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease. The National Institute on Aging recently awarded the ACT research project a $12 million, five-year grant. Dr. Thomas J. Montine, University of Washington professor of neuropathology, is a co-investigator for the ACT study. A video of Dr. Larson, < a href=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R491UVmCtF0> Dr. Eric Larson on aging study, describing the research on healthy aging and dementia is available via YouTube.