Patients could be set to benefit from a breakthrough in dementia care after a clinical trial reported promising initial results for a treatment that alters the course of Alzheimer’s disease.
For the research, a team from University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (UCLH) investigated the efficacy of a treatment known as ALN-APP, a type of gene silencing therapy called RNA interference.
Researchers hope that this type of treatment can inhibit the production of amyloid proteins and therefore lead to the prevention of Alzheimer’s disease.
After enrolling 20 patients with early-onset Alzheimer's disease – the leading cause of dementia in young people – researchers found that single doses of ALN-APP were well tolerated and demonstrated significant and sustained reductions in specific amyloid molecules.
Consultant neurologist at UCLH’s national hospital for neurology and neurosurgery, Dr Catherine Mummery, is one of eight investigators worldwide for the trial, and the only one based in the UK.
The news comes shortly after results from the clinical trial studying the treatment, donanemab, were announced at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference, which revealed that the drug was able to delay deterioration in some patients by 35%.
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