Dementia vaccine

According to recent reports, a brand new drug could be set to reverse dementia. News hit the headlines at the end of December, 2019 following publication in the journal Alzheimer’s Research.  It will be entering human trials, after having been performed successfully on mice. However, as with all drug trials, it will be some time before this will be available for people to use. If proven effective, it could become available on the market within a decade, according to the research team. For people at hereditary risk of dementia, the new drug could even have the potential to prevent Alzheimer’s and this is the first time we have seen steps towards prevention of dementia. Here’s all you need to know. 

Who’s conducting the research?

The research has been funded by the US government and has been going on for 20 years, mostly carried out in Australia. According to professor Nikolai Petrovsky from Flinders University in Adelaide, this dementia breakthrough is a revolutionary step in the right direction. Human trials are set to begin within the next 20 months, potentially, bringing us closer to dementia prevention and cure. 

Which dementia disease is this for? 

According to the research the vaccine is focussed on Alzheimers and it is not clear if this vaccine would be suitable for other dementia diseases. That said, given the differences in the way that these diseases affect the body, it might not be clear how the vaccine would impact those diseases. More information may be available later. 

What is different about this trial? 

There is much excitement about the potential for this drug because according to the researchers, it focuses on targeting the areas of the brain that have been damaged or are at risk of being damaged, rather than targeting the symptoms.

The new treatment involves the combination of two drugs. They are said to work by targeting and then eliminating the nanofiber tangles and brain plaque. Brain plaque is said to be found in brains which have been damaged in dementia and are linked to memory loss and cognitive deterioration.

It is thought that the dementia drug may be able to reverse dementia in people who already have it, however, for those who are predisposed to developing Alzheimer’s, this dementia cure could act as a vaccine to prevent the disease. 

How likely is it to work?

Researchers in Australia appear to be optimistic about the clinical trials and have dubbed it the end of a journey of long and thorough research. Most dementia drugs available on the market are aimed at reducing symptoms and do not target the root cause of dementia. This could be the first drug of its kind and if successful would be an answer to the significant rise in dementia diagnoses, which have risen 40% over the last 5 years in the UK.  

We will be looking out for any further updates and updating this article on the Looking After website www.lookingafter.org 

If you are looking for information about how to be involved in clinical trials, see our article here.