Drink milkshakes for ALZ

[Guest guest]

On the comic side - I actually do feel better when I eat carbs - for

about 2 hours.

Milkshake drug feeds Alzheimer's brains

Four promising medicines poised for large-scale experiments

The Associated Press

Updated: 3:05 p.m. PT June 11, 2007

WASHINGTON - Drinking a milkshake-style medicine at breakfast seems

to feed brain cells starved from Alzheimer's damage, researchers

reported Monday. It's one of four promising experimental drugs poised

for large-scale testing against the brain-destroying disease.

The milkshake drug, called Ketasyn, is a dramatically different way

to approach dementia. It hinges on recent research suggesting

diabetic-like changes in brain cells' ability to use sugar for energy

play a role in at least some forms of Alzheimer's.

Special fatty acids in Ketasyn offer an alternate food source to rev

up those hungry neurons, researchers told an international

Alzheimer's meeting here Monday. In a study of 150 patients, adding

Ketasyn to their regular medicines produced a small but important

boost in mental functioning — but only in people who don't carry an

Alzheimer's gene called ApoE4. Still, that's about half of all

patients.

" We see this as a co-therapy, " not a way to stop Alzheimer's,

cautioned Dr. Constantini, a former Harvard scientist now with

the company Accera Inc. that is developing the drug.

Indeed, to stop Alzheimer's brain decay, most scientists have their

hopes pinned on drugs that promise to prevent a sticky goo called

beta-amyloid from clogging up patients' brains. And Monday brought

frustrating news on that front: The first of those amyloid blockers

to make it to large-scale, Phase III testing has hit a hurdle, and

scientists will have to wait until at least month's end to learn if

the much-anticipated drug Alzhemed really works.

The problem is statistical, said lead researcher Dr. Aisen of

town University: Hospital-to-hospital differences in other

medication use among the study's 1,000 participants prevent an

immediate clear comparison of Alzhemed's role. Working with the Food

and Drug Administration, researchers are adjusting for those

variations, Aisen told the Alzheimer's Association's dementia

prevention meeting.

Drugs in the pipeline

Stay tuned, he said: There are some hints that Alzhemed-treated

patients fared better.

Other drugs highlighted Monday:

Eli Lilly & Co. hopes to halt beta-amyloid formation by blocking an

enzyme called gamma secretase involved in its creation.

Among 51 patients given the still-unnamed drug, those who took the

highest dose had a 65 percent reduction of beta-amyloid in their

blood. The study didn't last long enough to tell if their symptoms

improved, too, but the drop was so big that Lilly will begin a Phase

III trial early next year to try prove the approach.

" This is a robust effect, " said Lilly researcher Dr.

Siemers. " How could you not do a Phase III study? "

Also next year, scientists will begin a U.S. study of an old Russian

antihistamine against Alzheimer's. A study of 180 Russian patients

found the drug Dimebon improved mental functioning, patients' ability

to care for themselves and some other measures, said Dr. le

Doody of the Baylor College of Medicine.

After a year of treatment, patients' mental functioning hadn't gotten

any worse than when they started. Scientists think Dimebon may have

some capacity to save neurons from death, said Dr. Hung, chief

executive of manufacturer Medication Inc.

The milkshake drug Ketasyn follows the principle that when someone

fasts, the body lives off stored fat. Ketasyn contains fatty acids

that the liver metabolizes into substances called ketones, similar to

what's produced during a fast. Brain cells can use ketones in place

of sugar for energy.

That's also similar to the high-fat, low-protein ketogenic diet

sometimes used for children with severe epilepsy. Manufacturer Accera

is currently hunting funding for a Phase III study, and exploring

different formulations for epilepsy and other brain disorders.

Finally, Elan Corp. plans a Phase III trial later this year that will

infuse patients with immune-system cells called antibodies to attack

the plaque clogging their brains. Elan earlier tried using a vaccine

to spark patients' bodies to make their own antibodies; research

halted when a handful of participants suffered serious brain

inflammation. But Monday, Elan presented evidence backing the general

approach: 4½ years after the ill-fated vaccine study, 17 patients

still harbor those antibodies, and their Alzheimer's has worsened

much slower than their unvaccinated counterparts.

© 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may

not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19177355/