rocky start for alzheimers research
Last Updated : GMT 09:03:51
Almaghrib Today, almaghrib today
Almaghrib Today, almaghrib today
Last Updated : GMT 09:03:51
Almaghrib Today, almaghrib today

In 2018

Rocky start for Alzheimer's research

Almaghrib Today, almaghrib today

Almaghrib Today, almaghrib today Rocky start for Alzheimer's research

Designer Guio Di Colombia in Inclusion fashion show in Colombia.
Paris - Al Maghrib Today

The year 2018, barely underway, has already dealt a series of disheartening blows to the quest for an Alzheimer's cure.

Within the first three weeks, pharmaceutical giant Pfizer abandoned the costly and frustrating field of dementia drug development, and two promising treatments stumbled in patient trials.

Alzheimer's support groups are putting on a brave face, but the collective disappointment is palpable as the global cost of caring for some 50 million dementia sufferers is set to reach $1 trillion (819 billion euros) this year.

"It's very fair to say that progress is slow," David Reynolds, chief scientific officer at Alzheimer's Research UK, a charity, told AFP.

"Companies have put a lot of time, effort and money in over the last 25 years, and there haven't been any new medicines launched in this area for 16 years now."

Experts say it takes 12–15 years, on average, and more than $2 billion to develop a single drug.

According to the Alzforum website, which gathers data on candidate drugs, fewer than 300 have made it to Phase II drug efficiency trials so far.

Only five have ever been approved to treat symptoms such as memory loss associated with Alzheimer's, first identified more than 100 years ago.

With a clinical trial failure rate of over 99 percent, there is still no licenced drug that slows the condition's progression, or cures it.

Today, about 100 candidate dementia drugs are enrolled in trials, compared to over 1,000 for cancer, according to Reynolds.

One reason is that "pharmaceutical companies ultimately are companies. They are beholden to their investors," he said.

"A return on investment is really: How much time and money do you put into getting a new medicine versus how much money can you make once you've actually got it? In this area, success has been very difficult to come by."

- Mysterious brain -

The stakes are high.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), some 10 million people per year are diagnosed with dementia, with Alzheimer's disease accounting for about two-thirds of cases.

By 2030, the number of sufferers is projected to reach 82 million globally, and by 2050 some 152 million.

The medical, patient-care, and economic costs are enormous.

A heavy burden falls on family members, the majority of care providers worldwide. Many have to give up their jobs.

Alzheimer's affects mainly older people -- about one in four over-85s is a sufferer. And numbers have soared as lifespans have lengthened thanks to medical advances in other fields.

With cardiovascular disease and cancer the biggest killers in the 1960s and '70s, that is where most of the research money went.

"In dementia, that investment wasn't there. So the amount of knowledge... about the disease is at a much, much earlier stage, and arguably the brain is a much more complicated organ" than the heart, said Reynolds.

To this day, scientists don't know exactly what causes Alzheimer's, leaving drug developers stumped.

On January 6, Pfizer announced an end to its "discovery and early development efforts" for Alzheimer's and Parkinson's dementia drugs.

Two days later, Danish company Lundbeck reported its idalopirdine compound did not "decrease cognitive loss" in patients, and on January 12, biotech firm Axovant announced the end of the road for its offering, intepirdine.

- Slow, but not backwards -

Experts say every failure of a drug reveals something new about Alzheimer's disease, which is thought to be associated with a buildup of protein "plaques", and "tangles" in the brain.

One important recent realisation was that an effective treatment may have to begin long before symptoms appear as protein build-up likely starts decades before disease sets in.

This, in itself, presents a research challenge.

"How do you find these patients?" when they are in middle age and symptom-free, explained French neurology professor Bruno Dubois. "How long do you treat them?"

Drugs in development today are targeting several tracks.

Some use antibodies to mop up proteins in circulation, or enzymes to inhibit their production.

Another experimental approach is vaccination: training the body to produce its own antibodies to attack disease-causing proteins.

"We are not moving backwards," insisted Reynolds.

Yet, he was "by no means certain" that a goal set by the G8 in 2013 to develop a cure or treatment for dementia by 2025 can be met.

"Even knowing the obstacles, we have never been as optimistic as we are today," added James Hendrix, a director at the US-based Alzheimer's Association, one of several non-profit research funders.

"We will not slow down in our fight against this terrible disease," he vowed.

"We are steadfastly committed to both advocating for further increased federal funding for Alzheimer's and dementia research, and increasing our own level of research funding to get us to where we ultimately need to be -- a world without Alzheimer's disease."

Source: AFP

almaghribtoday
almaghribtoday

GMT 12:12 2018 Wednesday ,17 January

Pretty dresses are no longer just

GMT 12:50 2018 Tuesday ,16 January

Lacobella appoints 5th House PR

GMT 10:16 2018 Monday ,15 January

Dolce & Gabbana's royal flush wows

GMT 15:17 2018 Sunday ,14 January

The Dovetail Agency launches events

GMT 09:25 2018 Friday ,12 January

Uniqlo fashions strong profits

GMT 11:54 2018 Thursday ,11 January

Versace family slam TV series

GMT 07:15 2018 Wednesday ,10 January

Fashion East confirmed for Fashion

GMT 08:20 2018 Tuesday ,09 January

Dior Paris fashion exhibition breaks
Almaghrib Today, almaghrib today

Name *

E-mail *

Comment Title*

Comment *

: Characters Left

Mandatory *

Terms of use

Publishing Terms: Not to offend the author, or to persons or sanctities or attacking religions or divine self. And stay away from sectarian and racial incitement and insults.

I agree with the Terms of Use

Security Code*

rocky start for alzheimers research rocky start for alzheimers research

 



Name *

E-mail *

Comment Title*

Comment *

: Characters Left

Mandatory *

Terms of use

Publishing Terms: Not to offend the author, or to persons or sanctities or attacking religions or divine self. And stay away from sectarian and racial incitement and insults.

I agree with the Terms of Use

Security Code*

rocky start for alzheimers research rocky start for alzheimers research

 



Almaghrib Today, almaghrib today Skincare PR Performance Full Year 2017

GMT 09:22 2018 Monday ,22 January

Skincare PR Performance Full Year 2017
Almaghrib Today, almaghrib today New hunt for flight MH370 gets under way

GMT 11:03 2018 Wednesday ,24 January

New hunt for flight MH370 gets under way
Almaghrib Today, almaghrib today Modern colorful bedroom renovation

GMT 10:57 2017 Thursday ,21 December

Modern colorful bedroom renovation
Almaghrib Today, almaghrib today Puigdemont candidate for Catalan president

GMT 13:56 2018 Tuesday ,23 January

Puigdemont candidate for Catalan president
Almaghrib Today, almaghrib today Turkey detains dozens more

GMT 10:47 2018 Wednesday ,24 January

Turkey detains dozens more
Almaghrib Today, almaghrib today The Rake announces editorial updates

GMT 10:46 2018 Tuesday ,16 January

The Rake announces editorial updates
Almaghrib Today, almaghrib today Europe brings on charm and blue skies

GMT 11:51 2018 Tuesday ,23 January

Europe brings on charm and blue skies
Almaghrib Today, almaghrib today For the Variety of Interior Design Styles

GMT 10:46 2017 Tuesday ,19 December

For the Variety of Interior Design Styles
Almaghrib Today, almaghrib today US Christian tourists see deep meaning

GMT 13:44 2018 Monday ,22 January

US Christian tourists see deep meaning
Almaghrib Today, almaghrib today Amazon to open first cashierless shop

GMT 10:03 2018 Tuesday ,23 January

Amazon to open first cashierless shop

GMT 16:05 2015 Thursday ,26 February

Egypt, South Sudan to launch campaign to fund Waw Dam

GMT 15:01 2017 Monday ,13 November

Switzerland edge out Northern Ireland

GMT 23:12 2015 Monday ,07 September

Moussa participates in annual forum at Salzburg

GMT 04:45 2012 Friday ,12 October

Hezbollah role in Syria grows more evident

GMT 01:42 2014 Sunday ,16 February

Posting links to freely available to legal Web

GMT 08:56 2016 Wednesday ,05 October

Rough times for Saudi retail

GMT 06:59 2017 Wednesday ,01 February

Bayern Munich's Ribery out of action

GMT 19:36 2011 Monday ,25 April

KSE index ends day in green

GMT 00:40 2012 Sunday ,08 July

An Alaska women’s shelter can reopen

GMT 17:43 2012 Thursday ,29 November

Scolari returns as Brazil coach

GMT 08:48 2017 Wednesday ,14 June

Qatar keep FIFA World Cup hopes alive

GMT 11:45 2012 Tuesday ,11 December

Hawa al-Tagtaga remembered

GMT 12:06 2011 Saturday ,11 June

William in first Trooping parade

GMT 15:49 2012 Wednesday ,15 August

Lindsay Lohan in skimpy bikini

GMT 15:15 2016 Wednesday ,24 August

Deal puts Microsoft apps on Lenovo phones

GMT 14:52 2011 Friday ,08 July

Energy cuts will avoid wastage

GMT 12:25 2014 Wednesday ,03 December

The New York hotel that will host the royal couple

GMT 12:24 2012 Sunday ,01 July

Salvatore Ferragamo: Eyewear collection
Almaghrib Today, almaghrib today
 
 Almaghrib Today Facebook,almaghrib today facebook  Almaghrib Today Twitter,almaghrib today twitter Almaghrib Today Rss,almaghrib today rss  Almaghrib Today Youtube,almaghrib today youtube  Almaghrib Today Youtube,almaghrib today youtube

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2021 ©

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2021 ©

.almaghribtoday .almaghribtoday .almaghribtoday .almaghribtoday
almaghribtoday almaghribtoday almaghribtoday
almaghribtoday
بناية النخيل - رأس النبع _ خلف السفارة الفرنسية _بيروت - لبنان
almaghribtoday, Almaghribtoday, Almaghribtoday