Slashdot Mirror
Drug Halts Decline In Alzheimer's Patients
ljw1004 writes "Alzheimer's researchers are divided on whether the disease is caused by 'beta amyloid' (a peptide found in Alzheimer brains) or by 'tau protein' (normally used for cellular scaffolding, but can aggregate out of control and destroy neurons). Today in Chicago a new drug has been announced that stops tau aggregation and appears to have halted Alzheimer's-related decline in 300 clinical trial patients. The drug is known as 'rember.' Do you have friends or family who appear to be on the road to dementia? Here is an online questionnaire, part of one used in the clinical trial to diagnose dementia. (Disclosure: I made the online questionnaire, and my father is one of the scientists behind the drug.)"
Interesting points.
The BBC article linked in the Slashdot story says, "Rember, or methylthioninium chloride, is the first treatment specifically designed to target the Tau tangles."
Note that, apparently:
1) They don't know what causes Alzheimer's disease. They have only found a chemical that modifies the course of the disease.
2) The smack-you-in-the-face marketing has already begun? They are calling the drug, "Rember"?
The "drug" is only a well-known synthetic dye. "Rember" is Methylene blue. The Free Dictionary says it is, "A basic aniline dye that forms a deep blue solution when dissolved in water and is used as a bacteriological stain and as an antidote for cyanide poisoning."
3) This is apparently just an example of trying every known chemical to see if it modifies every known disease. If it works, fine, but it is not an example of science; it is apparently only an example of somewhat blindly trying everything. How is that a "treatment specifically designed"?
My understanding is that it is common to have temporary remissions of the symptoms of Alzheimer's disease. In any short clinical trial, there will be some people who have improved.
4) "... the trial was funded by a pharmaceutical company..." according to the BBC article.