What is on the Horizon for Alzheimer Treatments: Despite many promising leads, new treatments for Alzheimer’s are slow to emerge. Current Alzheimer’s treatments temporarily improve symptoms of memory loss and problems with thinking and reasoning. These Alzheimer’s treatments boost the performance performance of chemicals in the brain that carry information from one brain cell to another. They include Cholinesterase inhibitors and the medicine Memantine (Namenda). However, these treatments don’t stop the underlying decline and death of brain cells. As more cells die, Alzheimer’s disease continues to progress.
Experts are cautious but “hopeful” about developing treatments that can stop or delay the progression of Alzheimer’s. Future Alzheimer’s treatments may include a combination of medicines. This is similar to treatments for many cancers or HIV/AIDS that include more than one medicine.
A Few of the Strategies Currently Being Studied: Taking aim at Plaques: Some of the new Alzheimer treatments target clumps of the protein beta-amyloid, knows as plaques, in the brain. Plaques are a characteristic sign of Alzheimer’s disease. Medicines known as monoclonal antibodies may prevent eta-amyloid from clumping into plaques. They may remove beta-amyloid plaques that have formed. They do this by helping the body clear them from the brain. They mimic the antibodies your body naturally produces as part of your immune system’s response to foreign invaders of vaccines. The US Food and Drug Admin (FDA) has approved (Leqembi) and Donanemab for people with mild Alzheimer’s disease and mild cognitive impairment.
Preventing Destruction: A medicine initially developed as a possible cancer treatment – Saracatinib – now being tested in Alzheimer’s treatment underway now.
Studying the Heart-Head Connection: A number of studies are exploring how best to build on that brain linked to heart and blood vessel health. The risk of developing dementia appears to increase as a result of many conditions that damage the heart or arteries. This includes: high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, diabetes and high cholesterol. Developing new medicines is a slow process. The pace can be frustrating for people with Alzheimer’s and their families.
I hope this helps with some of the understanding of new treatments and more research. Since majority of my client(s)/patients have some stage of Dementia/Alzheimer, my education working with the Alzheimer Association and Specialists who study and treat this disease helps me to guide those families with their loved ones the resources and services to help their loved one(s) to still have the quality of life. (Info provided by the Mayo Clinic)
Brenda Dever-Armstrong, CEO/Owner/CSA/Geriatric Advisor/Lifetime Advocate
The Next Horizon Senior & Military (Veterans/Spouses) Services/Resources/Locator
Business Cell: 210-275-3002
Email: deverb@att.net