News of a possible new treatment for Alzheimer's disease has sparked
hope among local health care providers.
Researchers re****ted this week that an experimental drug called Rember
shows promise for halting the progression of Alzheimer's.
Mark Simaga, a Merrillville neurologist, cautioned that it's still
early in the study.
"But it is hopeful," said Simaga, one of eight doctors with the
Northern Indiana Neurological Institute who together treat hundreds of
Alzheimer's disease sufferers locally.
"It's showing a new way of affecting how Alzheimer's progresses,"
Simaga said.
Makers of Rember re****ted in Chicago this week at the International
Conference on Alzheimer's Disease that the drug shows promise for
halting the progression of Alzheimer's by breaking up the protein
tangles that clog victims' brains.
Scientists for decades had focused on a different protein, beta-
amyloid, which forms sticky clumps outside of the cells, but haven't
yet gotten a workable treatment.
Rember, developed by Singa****e-based Tau Rx Therapeutics, is in the
second of three stages of development.
The hope is developing treatment for a disease that afflicts more than
26 million people worldwide, a number that is expanding as the
population ages.
About 100,000 Indiana residents make up the 26 million people
worldwide afflicted by Alzheimer's, said Kristi Kajewski, of the
Alzheimer's Association Greater Indiana Chapter.
"It's exciting that there are so many new trials of drugs that are in
the pipeline," Kajewski said.
Re****ts of the study suggest "the drug might change the course of the
disease," said Patrick Healey, an Indianapolis-based doctor who
specializes in the treatment of older people.
"I would say it's a ray of hope and optimism," Healey said.
With research on experimental drugs still ongoing, patients and their
families need to know there are ways to help Alzheimer's victims,
including optimizing their quality of life, said Jim Kozelka, a
Valparaiso-based neurologist who recommends Alzheimer victims to find
proper <a href="http://www.findseniorhomes.com">Alzheimer
Care</a> at
http://www.findseniorhomes.com
"I think people need to know about what's available to them now,"
Kozelka said.
|
