Over the course of writing on this blog we have reviewed several treatment options for Alzheimer’s disease, right from mainstream FDA approved drugs to alternative treatments. As the pharma landscape has evolved in this area, companies and scientists have been championing their methods for reducing the risk of Alzheimer’s. However, we seem to actually be far behind in our pursuit for a cure for the disease. An independent panel of scientists representing the NIH now says that scientific studies do not provide sufficient evidence that any of the available treatment options reduce the risk (or progression) of Alzheimer’s disease.
NIH’s 15-member panel discusses various studies on Alzheimer’s strategies
The 15 member non-advocate panel representing various medical fields spent 3 days discussing several studies that were put together by the Duke University Evidence-based Practice Center. These studies reviewed results from research that established relationships between the disease and its risk factors and those studies that evaluated the outcomes of available treatments.
The panel’s conclusion puts us back to square one in our efforts to come up with a cure for Alzheimer’s. The panel did not find sufficient evidence suggesting that existing techniques have any effect on the progression of the disease. Additionally, they did not find enough evidence linking the popular risk factors to the progression of the disease.
We have always been curious as to how alternative treatments like multivitamins, gingko biloba or other supplements reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s. Given all the hopes that these have generated in the past, the panel found all of these studies inconclusive. Another noteworthy observation is that they don’t think that approved treatments like Pfizer/Eisai’s Aricept and Namenda provide much benefit to Alzheimer’s patients either.
We have some ways to go in the pursuit for an Alzheimer’s cure
The panel clearly suggests that we have a long way to go for finding effective treatments for Alzheimer’s disease. Although the intent of this exercise was to provide clear knowledge to clinicians for consideration towards patient treatment, the panel hopes that the scientific community would engage in large scale studies to get some real usable results.
The impact of this problem is only visible when we look at the potential impact of the disease on our economy and on the world. According to the Canadian Alzheimer’s Association, over 1.1 million or 2.8% of Canada’s population would suffer from dementia within the next 30 years if we don’t take action now. Even worse, the impact of this increase on the Canadian economy would increase 10 fold because it would take enormous resources and costs to support patient healthcare. It is scary to read a report that says we are so far behind in the race for an Alzheimer’s cure; however it is to our own benefit to reevaluate our current pursuits and look for new opportunities to come up with strategies that truly work.
