Cardiovascular Meds May Be Beneficial In Alzheimer's Disease

MedPredict has published a new report designed to provide critical strategic insight for pharma and biotech companies with a stake in the market for diagnostics and treatments in this disease area. The report, entitled "Thought Leader Insight & Analysis: Alzheimer's Disease," is based on in-depth interviews conducted with a panel of physician thought leaders actively involved in ongoing research.

"There is some real progress being made in development of diagnostics and treatments for Alzheimer's disease," said Dr. Jeffrey Berk, the primary author of this report. "We expect demand for diagnostics is going to skyrocket in concert with approvals of agents that alter the course of the disease. There are three objectives for an Alzheimer's diagnostic: to diagnose the disease, to track changes in the course of the disease, and to confirm the effect of drugs. Our panelists are most excited about amyloid imaging using a tracer chemical called PIB."

MedPredict's report discusses the emerging data associating cardiovascular drugs with slowing of disease progression and symptomatic benefit in Alzheimer's disease. According to Dr. Berk, "There is intriguing new data suggesting some antihypertensives might have a role in significantly reducing Alzheimer's dementia." Other disease modification approaches discussed by the panel include passive and active immunotherapies, gamma-secretase inhibitors and modulators, beta-secretase inhibitors, insulin related mechanisms, and others.

MedPredict's panel addresses other therapies in development for symptomatic benefit in Alzheimer's, aimed at improving cognition and physical symptoms, including cholinesterase inhibitors, NMDA antagonists, dimebolin, alpha-7 nicotinic acetylcholine agonists, and others.