Amyloid-lowering strategies may be most effective if administered prior to the clinical presentation of Alzheimer’s disease.  By the time memory trouble brings patients to see a physician, there may well already be brain pathology and nerve cell damage.

Supported by CAF funds, Sam Gandy of the CAF Research Consortium, in collaboration with BrainCells of La Jolla CA, have discovered new drugs that reduce buildup of the amyloid oligomer while stimulating cognition and the generation of new nerve cells in the hippocampus.  These drugs provide a multipronged attack on AD: not only do they help the brain repair itself but they also retard the accumulation of pathology going forward.  Some Phase I studies (toxicity) with the drugs have been conducted, and others are in progress.  We hope to see these drugs in Phase II trials (efficacy) soon.

To download Dr. Gandy’s poster relating to the discovery of this new drug, click on the icon below.