However, three of the first anti-amyloid drugs to be tested on people all failed to produce results. Treatment with AN-1792, Flurizan and tramiprosate did not significantly improve the symptoms of people with Alzheimer's.
Part of the problem could have been that the drugs were tested on people with advanced Alzheimer's, Morris said, adding that they might be more effective if given to people in earlier stages of the disease.
But that requires a means to detect Alzheimer's disease early in its development or even to flag people who are at risk for developing the disease. The only way doctors have been able to diagnose Alzheimer's is when symptoms appear, and by then the damage has already been done, Morris and Thies said.
That might be about to change. Work is being done on scans and tests that could lead to the early detection of Alzheimer's.
Researchers are identifying substances that bind with amyloid deposits and make them visible to imaging scans, such as the PET, or positron emission tomography, scan. Previously, amyloid clumps have been invisible to scanning technology, and the only way doctors have been able to detect their presence in a human brain was during an autopsy, Morris said.
Researchers also are identifying genetic and biological markers that could indicate that a person is at increased risk for developing Alzheimer's.
"The excitement in the field is, yes, new imaging technology, and studies of amyloid beta in the spinal fluid of elderly and middle-age people do seem to identify people who, if they continue to live, will develop dementia," Morris said. "This will set the stage for targeting people at high risk of developing dementia if they live long enough."
Thies sees these two areas of research -- detection and treatm
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