New alzheimer’s drug gives us all a ‘glimmer of hope’
‘The breakthroughs being made through continued research is now giving us a real sense of the possibility that we could one day stop dementia in its tracks’
For the first time new drug appears to have slowed the deterioration of the brain caused by Alzheimer’s disease, offering what one expert said were “glimmers of hope” for patients.
The new substance, dubbed LMTX, showed signs it delay brain shrinkage and improve cognition in some patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer’s who were not taking any other medication for the condition.
The Alzheimer’s Society said more research would be needed as the study involved a relatively small number of people, but it added that it was starting to look like “we could one day stop dementia in its tracks”.
LMTX failed to have any effect on people who were already taking some sort of treatment for Alzheimer’s, which is a type of dementia. In the study, this was 85 per cent of the 891 patients who took part.
While a lack of effect on this scale officially indicates a failed experiment, a notable reduction in brain shrinkage was observed among the 82 patients who were only taking LMTX.