- Researchers claimed they found evidence amyloid plaque-removing therapies could delay Alzheimer’s symptoms in people genetically almost certain to develop the disease. Amyloid plaques are abnormal protein deposits that accumulate in the brain.
- The treatment reportedly reduced the risk of symptoms by half for 22 of the 73 patients studied.
- Research must continue, but the scientists involved in the study said the Trump administration’s delays jeopardize funding.
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For the first time ever, scientists claimed they’d found evidence there could be a way to delay Alzheimer’s symptoms in people genetically more likely to develop the disease in their 40s or 50s.
Could medication delay Alzheimer’s?
In a small trial conducted by Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, scientists found evidence that an experimental drug that removes amyloid plaques could possibly delay the onset of Alzheimer’s if initiated early enough in life.
Amyloid plaques are abnormal protein deposits that accumulate in the brain.
Researchers tested the amyloid-removing therapies in a group of 73 people who have rare genetic mutations that make it almost certain they’ll develop Alzheimer’s.
The new study, published Wednesday, March 19, in the journal Lancet Neurology, found that the anti-amyloid drug reduced the risk of symptoms by half for 22 of the 73 patients studied. The 22 patients did not show any problems with memory or thinking and took the experimental medication for an average of eight years.
What’s next?
Researchers said research and testing need to continue despite promising results.
However, research cuts and funding delays from the Trump administration threaten that possibility.
The research team said the National Institute of Health has already canceled two grant funding review meetings since Trump took office in January. The agency needs to review the team’s grant before the team can make any funding decisions.
If their grant misses a council meeting in May, the money for this study, which has been going since 2008, could run out.
