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Good News: Slowing down Alzheimer's with Blood Pressure Meds?!
Thursday 14th March 2013 | sana
Note: Englarge to see full image (comparison between a normally funtioning brain and a brain affected by Alzheimers)
A new clinical trial has been announced for launch for Alzheimer’s to test a blood pressure drug as treatment for Alzheimer’s. The trial is called RADAR and is receiving funding from the Medical Research Council (MRC). The MRC has invested £2 million and will see 230 participants to be treated with the drug ‘losartan’. The trial will be hosted in Bristol by the North Bristol NHS Trust and will be managed by scientists from the University of Bristol, Cambridge, and Queen’s University Belfast. Prior to this it has been suggested through research that losartan could increase blood flow and trigger biological processes important for potentially protecting brain cells from the effects of Alzheimer’s.
For this clinical trial the research tem will conduct brain scans, test memory, and test thinking using the results to assess the effects losartan has on brain shrinkage and memory.
The head researcher in charge of this trial is Dr. Pat Kehoe, Administrator of the Alzheimer’s Research UK Research Network of Bristol, in addition to this recruitment for the trial has been set to start in August 2013. Dr Simon Ridley, Head of Research at Alzheimer’s Research UK, said: “The ultimate test of any potential new treatment strategy for Alzheimer’s is success in clinical trials, so it is encouraging to see this trial getting underway.” (Radly, 2013).
For those interested in recruitment email: dementia-research@bristol.ac.uk
For more information visit: www.dendron.nihr.ac.uk
