Health

The War Against Alzheimer's

By CBSNews.com staff CBSNews.com staff

March 15, 1999 / 5:48 PM EST / CBS

(As reported 3/15/99)
U.S. health officials on Monday launched a major new fight against Alzheimer's Disease. A nationwide study will test new methods - not only to slow the relentless mind-destroying effects of Alzheimer's - but also to prevent them altogether.

CBS News Correspondent John Roberts reports that a new drug and an old familiar vitamin are two of the approaches being tested. And for some Alzheimer's patients, the sooner the better:

Constantino Moresca is in line to be a participant in the research, which the National Institute on Aging says has become even more urgent as the nation's elderly population increases. Moresca can't recall big things like his occupation and little things like where he went shopping.

"It is clear that if ways are not found to prevent the onset of Alzheimer's disease, then we will be facing a possible public health disaster," says Dr. Neil Buckholtz of the National Institute on Aging.

The study will focus on people like Moresca, who have Mild Cognitive Impairment, a pronounced forgetfulness that has recently been identified as a major risk factor for developing Alzheimer's.

"Most of the people with Mild Cognitive Impairment, as we have defined it, will progress to develop, to get Alzheimer's Disease at some point in the future," says Dr. Ronald Petersen of the Mayo Clinic.

Patients in the prevention trial will be given either high doses of Vitamin E, which may delay the onset of Alzheimer's, or a drug called Donezepil, which raises levels of a chemical in the brain that enhances memory. Dr. Aaron Miller of Maimonides Medical Center will help conduct the research. "If we could delay the onset of AD, we could reduce colossally the number of Americans suffering from the disease," he says.

And for study subjects, like Constantino Moresca, that could mean the difference between a full and healthy life and the long progression into dementia. "Will it get to the point where I will forget where I live? I've heard of people wandering in the street," he says. "They didn't know where they were and every once in a while, I think, that might happen to me."

Results of the study are expected in about 3-4 years.