Alzheimer Research

U.S. Launches Extensive Alzheimer's Studies

5-year, $55 million effort will look at exercise, drug treatment as therapies for early disease

By Robert Preidt

Monday, January 14, 2013

The five-year effort will look at drug and exercise treatments for patients with early stage disease, test if the generic drug prazosin can reduce agitation in Alzheimer's patients, and examine a new approach to speed testing of drugs in clinical trials.MONDAY, Jan. 14 (HealthDay News) -- Four U.S. government-funded clinical trials will search for new therapies for Alzheimer's disease.

The trials, which could cost as much as $55 million, are projects of the Alzheimer's Disease Cooperative Study (ADCS), a consortium of academic medical centers and clinics established in 1991 by the U.S. National Institutes of Health.

The consortium, which includes more than 70 sites in the United States and Canada, focuses on research of diagnosis and treatment methods that might not be tested by the drug industry.

The four studies are among efforts to accomplish the research goals outlined in the National Plan to Address Alzheimer's Disease, which was announced in May 2012. The plan calls for a coordinated and focused effort in research, care and services for Alzheimer's and related types of dementia. The goal is to find ways to prevent and effectively treat Alzheimer's by 2025./../