Alzheimer's is a cognitive disease that affects memory.

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The most common cause of dementia is Alzheimer's. The term dementia refers to loss of memory and a decline in other mental functions that disrupt daily life. Up to 80% of dementia cases are diagnosed as Alzheimer's.

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Alzheimer's is progressing disease; i.e., it (and dementia) will get worse as time goes on. Initially, during the onset of the disease, the loss of memory is mild. In the later stages, those affected cannot properly adapt to their environment.

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Currently, the disease known as Alzheimer's has no cure. The average person can live up to 8 years after an Alzheimer's diagnosis, but individual factors play a part in survival. There is only one treatment, which targets the hallmark of the disease – removing the amyloid. Other treatments can slow the worsening of symptoms and promote quality of life. There is currently an effort worldwide to find better treatments for Alzheimer's via Alzheimer's prevention clinical trials. These clinical trials are working to delay the onset of the disease and prevent its development.

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Clinical trials aim to attack the root cause of Alzheimer's — the amyloid.

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One of many ongoing clinical trials is trying to research whether to begin treating the root of Alzheimer's symptoms before the onset of symptoms. The drugs being researched were created to attack and destroy amyloid-β proteins in the brain. Amyloids bunch together in the brain to form toxic structures called plaques. These plaques are believed to be the main cause of the symptoms of Alzheimer’s.

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Antibody clinical trials offer solutions for the treatment of affected people worldwide.

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The toxic amyloid proteins are present in several types of dementia. The tested antibodies give possible hints on ways to treat the 55 million people globally who suffer from these conditions. The majority of dementia diseases appear after the age of 65 and have been practically incurable. Most clinical trials going on around the world are aiming to treat disease symptoms instead of the cause.

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The new clinical trials are focusing on the cause. Scientists have begun to screen people from middle age with blood tests. They are treating patients who show amyloid abnormalities with experimental drugs that decrease the creation of amyloid plaques.

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During clinical trials, scientists have found a mutation shared by family members.

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The research team identified a gene that codes for a large protein in the neuron called the amyloid precursor protein (APP). It was found in the family members of those who had a dementia diagnosis. APP in the brain is broken into amyloid-β by enzymes. Over time they can collect and form plaques. In those with the mutation APP gene, the amyloid-β proteins are more abundant, and the disease manifests earlier.

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Current clinical trials hope to prove the amyloid hypothesis of Alzheimer’s disease by preventing the trigger that causes the accumulation of amyloid-β in the brain. This should slow disease progression or prevent it completely, hopefully within the next decade.

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Current studies are looking for presymptomatic participants.

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Scientists are not ignoring the need for treatment development for those suffering from Alzheimer's, but researchers are now looking at and focusing on drug trials for the treatment of those with presymptomatic Alzheimer's disease.

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Recruitment is two-fold and not easy:

• People are needed that have rare genetic predispositions.
• General population participants that are at risk because of amyloid-β presence in the brain are needed.

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The US National Institute on Aging (NIA) in Bethesda, Maryland, funded the launch of a network to identify rare genetic cases. They now have hundreds of participants from 20 countries that have genes associated with early-onset Alzheimer’s.

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Studies like those mentioned above wouldn't be possible without the help of people who participate in clinical research.  If you would like to learn more about research and how you can participate in a clinical trial, connect with StudyPages.  Our platform helps you become part of real clinical studies and participate in the advancement of health care research.

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References:
https://www.alz.org/alzheimers-dementia/what-is-alzheimers
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-00651-0