This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
An experimental drug found to slow Alzheimer's disease is being tested at the University of Utah.
The U. was tapped as one of 70 sites across the U.S. to hold clinical trials on the drug, aducanumab. The drug's developer, Massachusetts-based Biogen, is sponsoring the study.
Alzheimer's disease, which has no cure, is the most common form of dementia and causes problems with behavior, thinking and memory. Scientists have found that Alzheimer's patients have a significant number of plaques — or unusual protein fragment clusters — between the brain's nerve cells, according to the Alzheimer's Association.
A preliminary study found that the drug decreased the number of these plaques in Alzheimer's patients, who also exhibited some signs of mental recovery. But fewer than 170 patients were involved in the study, which was designed to test the drug's safety, according to a news release from the U. The U. was not part of that preliminary study.
Biogen did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
"These results are very exciting," said Richard King, an investigator at the U.'s Center for Alzheimer's Care Imaging and Research. "However, there are still questions that remain to be answered."
It is estimated that about 30,000 Utahns ages 65 and older have this disease in 2016. Up to 5 percent of those individuals are diagnosed in their 40s or 50s. The disease is expected to affect about 42,000 Utahns by 2025.
Trial participants will receive drug infusions once a month for two years. Brain scans will be used to monitor the plaques, and neuropsychological testing will be conducted to establish the impact on brain processing and memory.
The trial already is underway and the U. hopes to enroll at least 10 participants by December, said King, local director for the clinical trial. A total of 2,700 individuals will be enrolled across the country, the news release stated.
King said the trial could help shed light on the disease's cause.
"If the drug effectively reduces amyloid plaques and slows memory loss, the results would support the idea that the sticky obstructions cause Alzheimer's," King said. "If initial observations hold true in the larger study, the treatment could potentially be used to prevent Alzheimer's rather than merely slow its progression."
King said the results for this larger study could take five years to publish.
Individuals interested in participating can call 801-587-7888.
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