Alzheimer’s drug to be offered to people without symptoms in bid to prevent onset of disease
An Alzheimer’s drug will be offered to people without symptoms who are at high risk of the disease in an NHS trial that is unique in Europe.
The trial will give the drug Trontinemab to those at high risk of Alzheimer’s to see if the disease can be delayed or prevented, it has been reported.
Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS Foundation Trust are the first in Europe to join the trial, which will recruit 1,600 healthy adults aged 55 and 80 internationally, the BBC said.
Participants from the UK will be tested to make sure they are not showing signs of memory loss, and will also under go a blood test to see if they have p-tau217 – a biomarker that can predict the development of Alzheimer’s.
The drug Trontinemab, which has been developed by Swiss pharmaceutical company Roche, is delivered into the vein directly through an IV bag.
It targets amyloid plaques, which are build-up of amyloid protein that clumps in the brain, the Alzheimer’s Society said.
The build-up of this protein can slow down brain cell function, and eventually kill them, the charity said.
Previous trial results published by Roche show that trontinemab can clear amyloid in patients.
Professor Ramin Nilforooshan, chief investigator for the trial, told The Telegraph: “For decades, research has focused on treating Alzheimer’s disease after symptoms appear.
“PrevenTron (the name of the trial) addresses a different question – whether we can act earlier, before symptoms begin.”
He added there was still uncertainty about the treatment, saying: “I’m not saying this trial is magic. It’s an investigational medicine. We need to wait and see: will it work or not?”
Alzheimer’s disease is the most common cause of dementia in the UK and it is a progressive condition, meaning the symptoms get gradually worse over time.
It is most common in people over the age of 65, and affects an estimated one in 14 people over this age, according to the NHS.
This rises to one in six people over the age of 80. There are estimated to be 982,000 people with dementia in the UK, the Alzheimer’s Society says.
