To print: Select File and then Print from your browser's menu --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Title: DG DISPATCH - AAN: Metifronate Improves Psychiatric Profile Of Patients With Alzheimer's Disease URL: http://www.pslgroup.com/dg/F9732.htm Doctor's Guide April 26, 1999
By Cameron Johnston Special to DG news
TORONTO, ON -- April 26, 1999 -- Patients with Alzheimer's disease who take metifronate appear to have fewer psychiatric symptoms than Alzheimer's patients who do not receive the drug, researchers from University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) Alzheimer's Disease Center reported this week at the American Academy of Neurology meeting in Toronto.
Studies involving other drugs to treat the disease have shown that the patient does not suffer as much cognitive impairment, but this is the first study that has shown changes in the patient's eating habits and moods while they are taking the experimental drug.
In the study, 830 non-institutionalized patients with mild to moderate to moderate Alzheimer's disease received either 50 mg or 60-80 mg daily over a period of 26 weeks. Using an Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale (ADAS-noncog) the patients experienced statistically significant improvements in their degree of distractibility, hallucinations, motor function and appetite.
The only domain in which the patients did not show an improvement was in their tendency to break down crying from time to time, said Donna Masterman, a UCLA researcher.
The fact that they seemed to experience an improvement in appetite is also important she said, because loss of appetite and poor eating habits are often warning signs that a person is losing the ability to care for himself or herself. Poor eating habits may also leave the patients susceptible to other illnesses.
The appetite scores in this study suggest that these patients could possibly go on living on their own, outside nursing homes or hospitals, without the need for an outside person to prepare their meals. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright © 1999 P\S\L Consulting Group Inc. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of P\S\L content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of P\S\L. P\S\L shall not be liable for any errors, omissions or delays in this content or any other content on its sites, newsletters or other publications, nor for any decisions or actions taken in reliance on such content. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This news story was printed from *Doctor's Guide to the Internet* located at http://www.docguide.com --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Return to News Story Page This site is maintained by webmaster@pslgroup.com Please contact us with any comments, problems or bugs. All contents Copyright (c) 1998 P\S\L Consulting Group Inc. All rights reserved.