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Promising new Alzheimers treatment study now recruiting nationwide Find out if youre eligible
More than 55 million people are currently living with dementia. Research into possible preventatives and treatments cant happen fast enough, it seems, as aging populations mean more and more people will receive a dementia diagnosis in the years to come.
Alzheimers Disease International predicts 139 million people will have dementia by 2050. Last year, Alzheimers disease was the sixth leading cause of death in the US �hardly cause for celebration although the state of play in the lab is promising: researchers in Germany have reported successfully reversing and repairing damage done by Alzheimers in mice. Back to the US now, where a new study is actively recruiting participants to test a new treatment for early AD.
New phase 2 study set to evaluate a synthetic version of thiamine for AD treatment
The Alzheimers Disease Cooperative Study (ADCS) at the University of California San Diego has partnered with the Burke Neurological Institute (BNI) at Weill Cornell Medicine and the Columbia University Irving Medical Center to launch a national clinical trial to find out if benfotiamine works as a treatment for early Alzheimers disease.
Benfotiamine is a synthetic (artificial) form of vitamin B1, aka thiamine.�
The trial will take place at 50 sites across the US. Its principal aim is to evaluate whether or not high doses of benfotiamine benefit people aged 50-89 with mild Alzheimers disease and mild cognitive impairment (MCI).
Thiamine deficiency is one of the things that has been linked to neurodegenerative disorders and the onset of cognitive problems. People with AD have a deficiency of thiamine in their brains, despite having normal levels of it in their blood.�
Taking regular thiamine as a supplement doesn’t increase the amount of thiamine in a dementia patient’s brain, according to the study’s authors. Hence the reason for a more powerful form of thiamine, in drug form.
Thiamine deficiencies can cause dementia, says Gary Gibson, professor of neurosciences at BNI. We think people with�mild cognitive impairment�and�Alzheimers disease�may not be getting enough thiamine delivered to the brain.
So, how’s it going to work?
BenfoTeam clinical trial aims to provide cost-effective and accessible treatment
The trial, named BenfoTeam, represents a fresh therapeutic approach to AD treatment, according to Howard Feldman, director of the ADCS at UC San Diego.
If the trial goes well, it could lead to a readily accessible, scientifically compelling, and cost-effective treatment for dementia further down the line. Thats a trifecta for a potential AD therapy, he adds, and benfotiamine has a strong safety profile.
People with AD who take thiamine supplements dont end up with more thiamine in their brain tissue. The idea behind this study is to establish whether or not taking thiamine in a different form will increase the amount that reaches the brain and, hopefully, slow cognitive decline in people with early AD.
Benfotiamine can increase blood thiamine up to 100 times the normal level, according to the studys press release, seen by The Focus. These levels of blood thiamine cannot be achieved by taking thiamine alone.
The logic is simple: “Since the brains of people with AD have a known thiamine deficiency,” says BenfoTeam trial co-Principal Investigator Jose Luchsinger, “and a lack of thiamine is known to cause memory and thinking problems, we think benfotiamine, a synthetic version of thiamine, may help preserve and/or potentially improve cognitive function. �
Find out if youre eligible to take part in the BenfoTeam clinical trial
The BenfoTeam clinical trial is randomized, double-blind, and placebo-controlled.
Participation will last 18 months, not including the screening time. The researchers plan to take on 406 participants.�There are study sites all over the US, with the greatest concentrations in the northeast.
To take part, you have to be between the ages of 50 and 89 and have mild memory problems or mild dementia due to AD.
At the screening, youll be tested for AD. You have to be stable on current FDA-approved acetylcholinesterase inhibitors (with or without memantine) for at least three months prior to screening, according to the BenfoTeam website, and living in the community rather than in a long-term care facility.
For more information on enrolment and how to take part, visit BenfoTeam.org.�
The Focus is likely to run more stories on the BenfoTeam trial as it unfolds, with input from patients, caregivers, and the researchers leading it, so follow us for updates.
