• Promising treatment for dementia

    From ScienceDaily@1:317/3 to All on Thu May 5 22:30:38 2022
    Promising treatment for dementia
    Sodium selenate slows behavioural variant frontotemporal dementia -
    - second most common dementia in under 60s

    Date:
    May 5, 2022
    Source:
    Monash University
    Summary:
    A new study has found a promising new treatment for patients with
    behavioral variant fronto-temporal dementia, the second most common
    form of dementia in the under 60s -- resulting in a stabilizing of
    what would normally be escalating behavioral issues, and a slowing
    of brain shrinkage due to the disease. It is the second clinical
    trial to show that the drug, sodium selenate, may slow cognitive
    decline and neuro- degenerative damage that is the hallmark of
    many dementias including Alzheimer's Disease.



    FULL STORY ==========================================================================
    A Monash University led study has found a promising new treatment for
    patients with behavioural variant frontotemporal dementia, the second most common form of dementia in the under 60s -- resulting in a stabilising
    of what would normally be escalating behavioural issues, and a slowing
    of brain shrinkage due to the disease. It is the second clinical trial
    to show that the drug, sodium selenate, may slow cognitive decline and neurodegenerative damage that is the hallmark of many dementias including Alzheimer's Disease.


    ========================================================================== Behavioural variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD) is a rapidly
    progressing destructive disease and can occur in people as young as
    35 years of age. It is characterised by behavioural disturbances and personality changes and can be highly disruptive and distressing for
    both patients and their families.

    Currently there are no treatments or cures for bvFTD and typical survival
    is 5- 7 years from diagnosis.

    The Phase 1 trial run in conjunction with the Royal Melbourne
    Hospital, the only one in Australia targeting non-genetic bvFTD,
    and one of a handful worldwide, showed that the drug, sodium selenate
    is safe and well-tolerated in patients with bvFTD over a period of 12
    months. Importantly, the majority of patients receiving sodium selenate
    showed no change in their cognitive or behavioural symptoms, and reduced
    rates of brain atrophy over the trial period.

    The results from the trial, led by Dr Lucy Vivash, from the Monash
    University's Department of Neuroscience, have just been published in the journal, Alzheimer's and Dementia: Translational Research and Clinical Interventions.

    In almost half of the cases with bvFTD, the damage to the neurons in the
    brain is caused by the build-up of a protein called tau. This protein is a major target for research in the prevention and treatment of Alzheimer's
    and other dementias, as a way to reverse the neurodegeneration caused
    by this tau accumulation.

    According to Dr Vivash, sodium selenate upregulates an enzyme in the brain
    that effectively breaks down the tau protein. "We have previously shown,
    in a Phase 2 trial, that sodium selenate given to patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer's Disease resulted in less neurodegeneration than in
    those who did not," she said. Importantly those patients in the trial
    with higher levels of selenium, a breakdown product of sodium selenate,
    in their bloodstream showed less cognitive decline.

    The research group is now conducting a larger study at many hospitals
    across Australia and New Zealand to further test whether this drug is beneficial for patients with bvFTD.


    ========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by Monash_University. Note: Content
    may be edited for style and length.


    ========================================================================== Journal Reference:
    1. Lucy Vivash, Charles B. Malpas, Christian Meletis, Meghan Gollant,
    Dhamidhu Eratne, Qiao‐Xin Li, Stuart McDonald, William
    T. O'Brien, Amy Brodtmann, David Darby, Christopher Kyndt, Mark
    Walterfang, Christopher M. Hovens, Dennis Velakoulis, Terence
    J. O'Brien. A phase 1b open‐label study of sodium selenate
    as a disease‐modifying treatment for possible behavioral
    variant frontotemporal dementia.

    Alzheimer's & Dementia: Translational Research & Clinical
    Interventions, 2022; 8 (1) DOI: 10.1002/trc2.12299 ==========================================================================

    Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/05/220505102147.htm

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