A drug used to treat hay fever could help improve symptoms in patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease, according to US research.
The study involved 183 Alzheimer’s sufferers who were randomly assigned to receive 20mg of the antihistamine dimedon, three times a day, or placebo.
After six months, the researchers found that memory, behaviour and the ability to conduct simple activities like eating improved among the patients who were taking dimebon.
The researchers, from Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas, concluded that ‘the continued and increasing benefit of dimedon over the course of this study is especially important because at present no approved therapies for mild-to-moderate Alzheimer’s disease have shown increasing improvement over 12 months’.
Susan Sorensen, head of research at Alzheimer’s Society, said: ‘These initial findings imply that dimebon could be more effective than treatments currently licensed for people with Alzheimer’s, however this was a modest-sized study.
‘More substantial research is now needed, which studies more people over a longer period of time, to investigate the true value of this drug and whether it treats Alzheimer’s disease itself or just the symptoms.’
sanjay.tanday@haymarket.com
The Lancet
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Comments
Imam Nilufar
21/07/2008
This sounds rather encouraging. Obviously more extensive research with side effect profile in a larger number is essential before clinical use.
Martin Gray
21/07/2008
It is a small cohort for a study to have any true reflection on outcomes don't you think? Apart from which I seem to be reading a lot of media articles about what vegetables, fruits, juices, etc are showing to improve or lessen the effects of certain cancers and mental conditions. Tomatoe juice, broccli, fruit of the upside down tree...... if it works then how much do we need to ingest, how often, etc. Research is a truly wonderful part of progressive science, but it has to be high quality and sufficient cohort size for results to be meaningful.
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