Pill could spare 500,000 the agony of Alzheimer's: Treatment can reduce crucial component of the disease by 90%



'Exciting' research could lead to generally available pill within five years

If trials are successful, drug would help around 400,000-500,000 Britons who are deemed at 'high risk' of developing Alzheimer's



Experts say 'exciting' research on a drug to combat brain plaques could lead to a generally available pill within five years

A new Alzheimer’s drug that could reduce a crucial component of the disease by 90 per cent is to be tested on thousands of patients.



Experts say ‘exciting’ research on a drug to combat brain plaques could lead to a generally available pill within five years.



If the trials are successful, the drug would help around 400,000-500,000 Britons deemed at ‘high risk’ of developing Alzheimer’s because they have memory problems in late middle age.

In patients with Alzheimer’s, clumps or plaques of a substance called amyloid beta protein stick to brain cells, leading to changes in memory, mood and behaviour.



Results from a previous three-month study of 200 patients, and earlier studies, show the drug reduces these amyloid plaques by up to 90 per cent.



Both healthy volunteers and Alzheimer’s patients took the drug without any serious side effects.

The new trials will involve more than 3,000 patients in 21 countries, including the UK.



The first 18-month phase of the study will enrol 1,960 patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer’s, a group that already has significant plaque build-up. The second study, lasting two years, will be carried out on 1,500 patients who are at an earlier stage, with memory difficulties.



Dr Craig Ritchie of Imperial College, one of the international team of researchers, said the drug – presently called MK-8931 – is being developed as a pill so that it will be easy to take.



‘If the trials prove it works, it will have to go through licensing procedures, so it will probably take about five years to become available.



‘Around 80 per cent of those developing Alzheimer’s would be eligible, getting on for 400,000 to half a million people,’ he said.

The drug, known as a BACE inhibitor (Beta Amyloid precursor protein site-Cleaving Enzyme inhibitor), is an enzyme that removes the sticky amyloid.



The trials must show the anti-amyloid effect actually makes a difference to patients with the disease and prevents it from developing in those who merely have memory problems.



There have been fears that amyloid might be a by-product of the disease rather than its cause.



Dr Ritchie, who is honorary consultant at the West London Mental Health NHS Trust, said the strategy adopted by this drug is completely new. He explained: ‘The aim is to intervene before symptoms take hold.

If the trials are successful, the drug would help around 400,000-500,000 Britons deemed at 'high risk' of developing Alzheimer's

‘People with memory problems aren’t definitely going to get Alzheimer’s but there’s a high likelihood it will affect two-thirds to three-quarters.



‘Other BACE inhibitors have not got far in development.



‘Stopping the formation of plaque early on, when the clumps are small and most toxic, is a fresh approach.



‘There is a great deal of excitement around this in the academic and medical community but there is a huge amount of work to do.’



James Pickett, head of research at the Alzheimer’s Society, said: ‘Previous BACE inhibitors have failed at this hurdle before, though there are important differences between this latest drug and the one that entered previous trials.’



Dr Eric Karran, director of research at Alzheimer’s Research UK, said: ‘We know Alzheimer’s starts long before symptoms appear, and it’s likely treatments will have more chance of success if given early, so it’s positive to see this drug will be tested in people with early signs of the disease.



‘We await the results of these trials with great interest.’