New Tests, Treatments Close in on Alzheimer's

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The trial was led by Dr. Eric Siemers, medical director of the Eli Lilly Alzheimer's Disease Team in Indianapolis. Siemers and his colleagues randomly assigned 51 patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer's to either 100 milligrams or 140 milligrams of the drug for six to 12 weeks.

The result: Levels of amyloid-beta 1-40 were reduced by 58 percent for the 100 milligram group and by 64 percent for the 140 milligram group.

However, no differences were seen in patients' cognitive function. But Siemers isnt disheartened by that outcome, he said, since "this was too short of a period to see a disease-modifying effect."

"This is the most robust effect of amyloid-beta in blood of any drug that is currently under development," he added. "The drug was safe, but we found some things that we will continue to monitor as we go into phase III studies, which will start early next year."

A third study presented Monday tackled Alzheimer's disease from a whole different angle. Experts know that glucose is the primary energy source for brain cells. However, in people with Alzheimer's, scientists have now discovered that a dramatic dip in glucose use in certain brain areas starts 10 to 20 years before any symptoms of Alzheimer's appear.

Deprived of their primary energy source, these stricken neurons suffer irreparable damage.

"This is a very novel approach to the treatment of Alzheimer's disease," said lead researcher Lauren Costantini, vice president for clinical development at Accera, in Broomfield, Colo. "The problem that we are focusing on is reduced brain glucose metabolism that has been shown to be an early event in Alzheimer's disease."

To replace this loss, scientists at Accera have developed a milkshake-like drug called AC-1202 (Ketasyn) that provides glucose-deprived neurons with an alternative energy source, known as ketone bodies. The researchers believe that increasing the availability of ketone bodies will improve memory problems and other functional losses that occur with Alzheimer's.