New research directions on the effects of Alzheimer's drugs

Scientists grouped Alzheimer's disease into three groups to test the effects of Alzheimer's drugs.

The first study was conducted on 160 American, British and Australian patients. These patients all have mutated genes that almost certainly will suffer from Alzheimer's disease. However, trials of drug effects on these patients will be conducted at a time before they have clinical manifestations of such conditions as memory impairment . These patients are expected to develop the disease in five years unless research drugs work effectively.

The second study was conducted on members of a family in Colombia. These members have a mutant gene and anyone who inherits this gene will have Alzheimer's disease.

The third study involves Americans in their 70s and they appear to be completely healthy, but these people have brain scan results that show they are beginning to develop Alzheimer's disease.

In recent years, studies involving people with Alzheimer's disease have failed, researchers have called for research in non-infected people, arguing that there will be time to intervene first. when the patient's brain is destroyed and cannot be recovered. So research on people diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease is a new direction.

Dr. Maria C. Carrillo, vice president of medical and scientific relations at the Alzheimer's Association, said the studies will soon work. Within a few years, when researchers compared three approaches to preventing the disease, they had to determine which drugs, if any, were effective. He also said the association has spent $ 4.2 million on the study, more than double the amount the Association used to subsidize previous studies.

The drugs used in the study will be selected among the 15 proposed companies. An evaluation committee, effective research as well as side effects of Alzheimer's drugs are also established.

During the first two years of the study, researchers will perform brain scans and examine patients' memory to find signs of the drug being effective.