2004-8-3
This is Phoebe Zimmermann with the VOA Special English Health
Report.
Researchers say two experimental drugs may be able to slow or
even stop the progress of Alzheimer's disease. This condition kills
brain cells. People over the age of sixty-five have an increased
risk of developing it. So do people with a family history of the
disease.
Scientists announced new findings during an international
conference last month in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Alzheimer's
Association organized the meeting.
The new experimental drugs are designed to interfere with a
protein called beta-amyloid. This protein sticks together. It forms
areas of plaque found in the brains of people with Alzheimer's
disease. Many scientists believe it kills brain cells.
Scientists at Georgetown University Medical Center in Washington,
D.C., tested a drug called Alzhemed. The study involved two groups
of people with mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease. One group took
Alzhemed. The other took an inactive substance. Neither group knew
which one they got.
The scientists say the group treated with the drug had a sharp
drop in the level of beta-amyloid in spinal fluid from the brain. No
changes were reported in the other group.
Doctor Paul Aisen led the study. He said people who started with
mild Alzheimer's suffered no further memory loss after a year on the
drug. He said there were no serious side effects. This drug is now
in final testing.
The other experimental drug is a compound known as
l-y-four-five-oh-one-three-nine. This is designed to block the
formation of enzymes that produce beta-amyloid. Researchers from Eli
Lilly and Company in Indianapolis, Indiana, led this study. It
involved thirty-seven healthy adults over forty-five years old.
The researchers say levels of beta-amyloid in the blood fell
after the group took the experimental drug for two weeks. They say
greater amounts of the drug led to greater reductions.
Experts say more than fifteen million people around the world
have Alzheimer's disease. These include four million Americans.
Scientists are not sure what causes it. But they believe that
genetic and environmental influences are both involved.
Alzheimer's disease begins with mild memory loss. It gets worse
and worse, until it robs people of their mind. Current drugs mostly
treat only the signs of the condition. But they do not stop the
disease or cure it.
This VOA Special English Health Report was written by Cynthia
Kirk. This is Phoebe Zimmermann.