Scientists all over the world are seeking for a treatment to prevent or stop the progression of dementia, an umbrella term for a wide range of degenerative conditions which are currently incurable.
Dementia is the sixth leading cause of mortality in the United States, experts said. It is also the only disease among the top causes of death that cannot be slowed down, cured or prevented. The Alzheimer's Association estimates that every 67 seconds, someone in the country develops the disease.
Now, an academic in the United Kingdom has offered hope to the public that researchers may finally find a cure for dementia.
'A New Era'
Professor John Hardy of University College London said new dementia treatments will potentially be available in 10 years and may be prescribed in the same way that statins are recommended by professionals.
"I think we will get to a situation where we will manage it in the way we manage diabetes now," said Hardy, who spoke to an audience at the Royal Society in London. "I can see a day where dementia will not be a major issue."
Hardy, a biologist and an expert on dementia, is optimistic that the coming years will reveal whether experts are at the start of a new era for medical advances into the disease or not.
The award-winning academic said drug trials for dementia were showing promising results, and if successful, researchers will be able to develop therapies within 2025.
A Daily Pill For Treatment
Scientists hope that two new treatments, which are currently on trial, hold the key to the first widely-available and effective medication for dementia, and in particular, Alzheimer's disease.
Alzheimer's disease is responsible for about 60 to 80 percent of dementia cases, while vascular dementia is the second most common type of dementia.
Hardy believes that a daily pill to fend off or delay the onset of mental decline is plausible in the future. Two approved drugs for the disease have been on clinical trials.
The first is solanezumab, a drug that can attack the buildups of sticky plaque known as beta amyloid and may be effective at the early stage of Alzheimer's disease.
Initial results showed that if given early, solanezumab slows the breakdown of in mental function by 34 percent. It works by destroying the beta amyloid in the brain, which are deformed proteins that can form as toxic and sticky plaques and build up between nerve cells.
The drug is being developed by three pharmaceutical companies namely Eli Lilly, Roche and Biogen.
The second is Biogen's aducanumab which also targets the accumulation of beta amyloid in the brain, a known hallmark of Alzheimer's. Clinical trials of this drug are expected to begin in the UK this 2016.
Both of these drugs target the root cause of the disease, rather than simply masking the symptoms.
"If those trials are successful it tells us immediately we're on the right road," said Hardy. "I think that will lead to a massive investment to develop other drugs that target amyloid in other ways."
Solanezumab would be given by infusion, but experts say that time will come when people who are at risk for dementia could be screened and given preventative drugs the same way statins are prescribed to prevent heart problems.
Meanwhile, a third proposed drug known as T-817MA is different from current medications. Instead of slowing the early symptoms of Alzheimer's, T-817MA will actively change the course of the disease in people who are already suffering from dementia. The drug has yet to be approved by the Food and Drug Authority (FDA).
The Future Of Treatments
Hardy said they will know in the coming year if they are already beginning to develop better treatments for Alzheimer's and other neurodegenerative disorders, or if their current research strategies should be changed.
"When you are on the right road, you put your foot on the accelerator and you can go quicker, so those results are [the] key," said Hardy.
In the U.S., an estimated 5.3 million people will be affected by Alzheimer's at the end of 2015, where two-thirds of these patients are women, experts said.
In the UK, about 850,000 people suffer from dementia, of which 15 percent need constant care. The Alzheimer's Society fears that 1 million people will be affected by the neurodegenerative disease, and may even rise to 2 million by 2050.
Photo: K. Kendall | Flickr
