Hub researchers are testing a pill that could protect the brain against the ravages of Alzheimer’s disease — a treatment that could be the first to slow the progression of one of the nation’s most common killers, they say.

“It’s the only cause in the United States in the top 10 causes that cannot be prevented, cured or even slowed down,” said Dr. Robert Stern, Boston University’s principal investigator for the trial. “The goal of this new medication going into clinical trials is really to try and slow down the advancement as well as trying to protect the cells that still exist.”

Alzheimer’s disease wreaks havoc on nerve cells in the brain until they cease to function, eventually causing death, Stern said. Boston University is one of 50 sites across the country conducting the Phase 2 clinical trial, which will study the effect of the experimental drug T-817MA on 450 Alzheimer’s patients over about 14 months.

According to Stern, the medication is expected to slow down the advancement of the disease by protecting the brain cells from damage. It also may create more connections between them, making them more resistant to the disease.

“The medications available do not alter the underlying disease. All they do is provide a little bit of symptom relief in a relatively small percentage of patients, and for a relatively short period of time,” Stern said.

He said five of those medications exist, and that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration hasn’t approved a drug for Alzheimer’s disease since 2003.

Toyama, a Japanese pharmaceutical company, and the National Institutes of Health are funding the research.

Visit noblestudy.org to learn more about the study.