Carmel, CA Alzheimer's Drug, Bapineuzumab Disappointing Clinical Trial: View From A Private Duty Caregiver

There is expected to be a flurry of reports released in the second half of this year related to clinical trials of drugs to treat Alzheimer's disease.  Unfortunately, the latest news is bad.  Pfizer Inc., Johnson & Johnson and Elan Corp. announced this week that bapineuzumab wasn't effective at slowing memory loss in a large, late-stage clinical trial in patients with a high risk genetic mutation called ApoE4.  This trial focused on people with mild-to-moderate Alzheimer's disease who didn't fare as well as those who participated in an earlier trial of the same drug.  The results from yet another trial on the drug, this one on late-stage Alzheimer's victims without the ApoE4 gene, is expected to be released this summer.  Scientists think the results from that trial may be better.  "We're optimistic that non-carriers are going to respond better," Husseini Mani, head of neuroscience research at J&J told The Wall Street Journal.  He said that gene carriers were "going to be a tougher nut to crack."  That suggests that researchers may have to come up with two different classes of drugs, one to treat those with the gene, and another one for those without.  This emphasizes how important early testing can be.  If you see signs developing in a loved one, get them to a specialist who regularly treats Alzheimer's patients.  Regular readers of my blog know that I am a big supporter of the Alzheimer's Association, which has a 24-hour help line at 800-272-3900.  They are also the largest private supporter of Alzheimer's research in the United States.  Please help them with their important mission if you can by clicking on this link for  Family inHome Caregiving fundraising site for Alzheimer's Association.