Study: Can Alzheimer's be prevented?

Tariot

team of University physicians is helping initiate the first large-scale national study to prevent Alzheimer's disease, marking a milestone in efforts to maintain a high quality of life for more people who are living longer than ever.

The team--based at Monroe Community Hospital, the University's main Alzheimer's treatment site--is one of four groups nationwide taking part in the Alzheimer's Disease Anti-Inflammatory Prevention Trial, or ADAPT.

The Rochester component of the study, led by Pierre Tariot, director of the Enriatric Neurology and Psychiatry Clinic at Monroe Community Hospital, needs 800 healthy volunteers for the seven-year study, which will follow the development of people age 70 and older who have a relative with the disease but who show no symptoms themselves.

The study, funded through an initial $25 million from the National Institute of Aging, seeks to address the question of whether common medicines known as cox inhibitors help delay or even prevent the onset of Alzheimer's disease.

Several studies have indicated that people who regularly use medications that inhibit enzymes known as cox-1 or cox-2 for several years may be less likely to get the disease.

"Just 10 years ago there were no treatments for Alzheimer's disease. Now we have a stable of medicines to treat the disease, and already we're talking about prevention," says Tariot.

"The question is simple: Can we delay or prevent the onset of Alzheimer's disease? It's really quite remarkable that we have progressed to the point where we can even ask that question."

Researchers are recruiting a total of nearly 3,000 people to take part in the national study. Physicians will compare the health of people older than 70 who are taking one of three medications: naproxen, a traditional medication that inhibits both the cox-2 and cox-1 enzymes; a more potent cox-2 inhibitor, celecoxib; and a placebo, or pill with no active drug.

Tariot's team has been involved in nearly every large-scale national study testing the effectiveness of medications in Alzheimer's patients.

Anyone 70 years of age or older, with a family member who has or had Alzheimer's, or typical symptoms such as serious memory loss, is invited to participate.

Participants will come to Monroe Community Hospital for medical checkups twice each year and will be interviewed by phone twice more each year.

Those interested in volunteering for the study should call (716) 760-6574 or toll-free 1-866-2-STOP-AD (1-866-278-6723). Additional information is available on the Web at www.2stopad.org.

Other institutions taking part in the national study are Johns Hopkins University, Boston University, and the Sun Health Research Institute in Sun City, Arizona.

Maintained by University Public Relations
Please send your comments and suggestions to:
Public Relations.