Trial to Evaluate Statin as Therapy for Alzheimer's

A clinical trial, the first of its kind, will evaluate the use of a cholesterol-lowering statin to treat patients with mild Alzheimer's disease. The trial, funded by the Institute for the Study of Aging (ISOA, New York, NY, USA), will be led by D. Larry Sparks, Ph.D., senior scientist at the Sun Health Research Institute (Sun City, AZ, USA).

Dr. Sparks has pioneered research that shows people with high blood pressure and coronary artery disease may be at high risk of developing Alzheimer's disease. He has also shown that increased cholesterol can produce Alzheimer's disease-like pathology in the brain. These findings have demonstrated a link between cardiovascular disease, elevated cholesterol, and the development of Alzheimer's.

The mission of the ISOA is to catalyze and fund the discovery and development of new therapies to prevent and treat cognitive aging and Alzheimer's disease. Since 1998, the ISOA has committed more than US$15 million in support of 45 global drug discovery and drug development projects.

"We believe this placebo-controlled study will further the efforts to substantiate a link between heart disease and Alzheimer's disease,” said Dr. Sparks.




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