UK clinical trial to find effective treatment of Alzheimer’s begins

Over the past 20 years, millions of pounds has been invested to find an effective treatment for Alzheimer’s and Dementia, but as of yet no effective treatment have emerged. Now, the first clinical trial to modify the progression of Alzheimer’s disease has commenced at the University College London Hospitals Clinical Research Facility.
Director of the Wolfson Drug Discovery Unit at University College London, Professor Sir Mark Pepys has shown the non-fibrous protein serum amyloid P component (SAP) plays a contributing factor to the formation and persistence of amyloid in tissues. The theory is that by preventing SAP from binding, amyloid plaques will breakdown faster and delay the progression of Alzheimer’s.

It’s also believed that SAP is what directly causes death of brain cells that lead to dementia, via a mechanism unrelated to its role in amyloid.

The trial carried out by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) is testing to see if a drug called miridesap removes SAP from the blood and stops it from reaching the brain. The trial will also explore the drug’s safety, effectiveness and tolerability in patients with Alzheimer’s, and will see if there are any changes in the function and structure of the brain.