Patients Sought For Promising Alzheimer's Drug Study

UCLA's Mary S. Easton Center for Alzheimer's Disease Research is seeking patients for the third phase of a preliminary study for a promising new drug that fights the ravages of Alzheimer's.

The new drug, called bapineuzumab, aims to remove the toxic protein, called amyloid, that scientists believe causes the disease in the brains of Alzheimer's patients. Recent announced results from the Phase II study showed that bapineuzumab resulted in improvements on memory tests in patients who received the therapy, compared to those who received a placebo, and also helped reduce brain shrinkage (compared to those receiving placebo), a common symptom of the disease.

Alzheimer's disease afflicts over five million Americans, a number that is expected to increase sharply as the baby boomer generation gets older. In Alzheimer's disease, the toxic amyloid protein seems to kill brain cells, resulting in characteristic brain shrinkage and memory and cognitive impairments.

The next phase of testing for this new therapy is already underway and UCLA's Kagan Alzheimer's Disease Treatment Development Program of the Mary S. Easton Center for Alzheimer's Disease Research is currently enrolling patients in this study. If successful, this therapy could receive FDA approval and provide a new treatment option that actually slows disease progression in Alzheimer's disease.