This write-up, published yesterday (4-21-16), from Alzforum is about the status of research into Lewy body dementias (LBD), which includes Parkinson’s Disease Dementia (PDD) and Dementia with Lewy Bodies (DLB). This summary is based upon discussion among experts at an NIH conference in Maryland at the end of March 2016. The NIH held a similar conference in 2013.
This is well worth reading. Here are key excerpts of the summary:
- “Topping the priority list at the 2013 summit, and again this year, were clinical trials of repurposed drugs, investigational compounds, or non-pharmacological methods to treat the symptoms of LBD, said Jennifer Goldman, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago. Few advances have been made on that front. In the past three years, a handful of clinical trials has been completed for DLB, mostly for drugs used in Alzheimer’s…” Two clinical trials on Aricept (donepezil) were conducted in Japan.
- “Three clinical trials have targeted PDD, Goldman said, one finding that rivastigmine is safe for this disorder, another that memantine lessens caregiver burden, and another that pimavanserin may relieve psychosis…”
- “The committee further recommended compiling an inventory of available autopsied LBD brains to prepare for large, coordinated studies.”
Brain Support Network, by the way, has handled many LBD brain donations over the last nine years. If you’d like us to assist your family with brain donation arrangements, let us know. Obviously, autopsied LBD brains are critical for research.
Check out the link to the Alzforum website as there’s an interesting image of a pareidolia test. Apparently those with dementia with Lewy bodies tend to misinterpret random stimuli.
“At 2016 Summit, Field Tackles AD-Related Dementias One By One”
Series: Alzheimer’s Disease-Related Dementias 2016 Summit, Part 2 of 2
Alzforum
21 Apr 2016
www.alzforum.org/news/conference-coverage/2016-summit-field-tackles-ad-related-dementias-one-one
Robin