DRUG IN ALZHEIMER’S STUDY MORE PROMISING THAN PREDICTED

An epilepsy drug already on the market may be even more promising against Alzheimer’s disease than scientists predicted when they began a current nationwide study of the medication in 2003. The finding is good news for doctors at the University of Virginia Health System, which is one of approximately 40 sites across the country currently recruiting participants to test whether the medication might slow progression of the disease.

Alzheimer’s disease brings with it a relentless assault on a patient’s brain, gradually robbing the person of memories, thoughts, and the ability to take care of oneself. Inside the brain, the hallmarks of the disease are molecular changes known as ‘plaques,’ which are globs of protein that accumulate in the brain, and ‘tangles’ that bunch up inside nerve cells. Both increase as a patient’s symptoms worsen.

Recently, researchers from the Indiana University School of Medicine and Lilly Research Laboratories reported that the compound under study, valproate, inhibits plaque in laboratory studies. That finding is in addition to earlier indications that valproate is fighting the tell-tale tangles. Most researchers believe that stopping formation of both plaques and tangles is key to any successful approach to halting the disease.

“We began this study because of evidence that this drug may block key molecular events that are known to be involved in the development of Alzheimer’s disease,” said David Geldmacher, MD, who is leading the University of Virginia team performing the study. “Now, there’s evidence that the drug could be more effective than we thought. That makes our study, looking at whether valproate’s effects in the laboratory also occur in Alzheimer’s patients, even more exciting and important.”

The trial is being organized and run by the Alzheimer’s Disease Cooperative Study, which is based at the University of California at San Diego. Pierre Tariot, MD, professor of psychiatry at the University of Rochester Medical Center, leads the study.

Tariot and his colleagues have previously shown that valproate helps ease symptoms of agitation like physical aggression, yelling and anger in some patients. Scientists will study whether patients who take valproate develop less agitation over time, as well as whether valproate slows down the deterioration of memory and daily functioning that occurs as the disease progresses. Doctors will also use imaging technologies, like MRI scans, to watch what actually happens inside the brain over the course of two years as people take the medication. Nearly half of the 300 participants needed nationwide for the study have been enrolled so far. New participants are being recruited for the next 12 months.

People with mild to moderate Alzheimer’s who are living at home and have not yet shown signs of agitation are eligible. Participants will take part in the study, known as the Valproate Neuroprotection Trial, for two years. The study is funded primarily by the National Institutes of Health. Abbott Laboratories is donating the medication.

Anyone interested in learning more about the study should call Paula Damgaard, RN, at the UVa Health System: (434) 243-5420 or (800) 438-4380. More information is also available on the Web at: http://adcs.ucsd.edu/t_ValproateNP.htm.

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