Experts excited by brain "wonder-drug"
- Thread starter HillyBilly
- Start date
There is always hope that a new treatment for a disease will be found but experience has taught me to approach these announcements cautiously.
Research has never been and never will be an overnight answer to anything but while the research goes on we have hope. Hopefully coming generations will not have to go through what we are all going through now either as a person with the diagnosis or someone caring.
Hopefully they will get the ball rolling on this soon, would be great to have progress in the treatment of this horrible illness.
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Trazodone is an existing drug (used for depression) and the new drug DBM is derived from liquorice (I think). So I wonder if the sales of liquorice products will now increase.....I expect the active ingredient in DBM is many times stronger that standard liquorice though.
Ah, this is a mouse study.
And, so far, there have been no drugs for dementia that worked in mice that also worked on humans.
This might be the exception though ...........
And, so far, there have been no drugs for dementia that worked in mice that also worked on humans.
This might be the exception though ...........
I think it was one of those that my Dad had the night before he was admitted to hospital with acute kidney failure, although fingers crossed for everyone they help many people in teh future
We're right to be cautious.
However having said that, anything which augurs well for our own futures and our children/ spouses not having to cope with this dreadful is to be welcomed. Especially if, as they say, we're going to live longer and as we are all aware, dementia's later stages are definitely not 'quality of life'.
However having said that, anything which augurs well for our own futures and our children/ spouses not having to cope with this dreadful is to be welcomed. Especially if, as they say, we're going to live longer and as we are all aware, dementia's later stages are definitely not 'quality of life'.
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I'd be interested to hear from people whose 'carees' are already taking Trazodone. It's being prescribed to receive sleep and mood issues as far as I can see - but based on this latest news, it's fascinating to think it might also be treating their AZ in some way.
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My mum has been in trazodone for months. She is taking it alongside of respiridone and lorazepam. It's very hard to say if it's helpful, mum seems on a steady downward spiral. The most I could say is if she could be worse behaviour wise without it I'd hate to see it taken away.
John has been taking Trazadone for almost three years in ever increasing doses. Currently 200/250 mg a day. It has kept him out of a care home. Before that his agitation made him an epic wanderer and almost broke me but he is much calmer and more manageable now.
He takes no Alz drugs because of his low heart rate and has never needed anti psychotics. He does now take paracetamol at bedtime because of a very painful knee and that so far is successful in helping him to sleep.
He takes no Alz drugs because of his low heart rate and has never needed anti psychotics. He does now take paracetamol at bedtime because of a very painful knee and that so far is successful in helping him to sleep.
I'm sat here looking at a bottle of Trazodone right now, my wife was on it for quite a while. One dose at night and I could give her 2 doses during the day as required she still takes it now in the nursing home along with several other.
It's usually given as needed to my wife but others seem to be on a scheduled dose from what I've seen.
It did make her less aggressive which was when I usually used it but it also could make her disorientated and confused and definitely more of a fall risk even though that wasn't an issue at the time, only when she took the Trazodone, for that reason I used it as little as possible.
She took it in conjunction with Donepezil and Citalopram which from what I was told by the nurse at the home was a pretty standard combination when she had a medication review late last year.
K
It's usually given as needed to my wife but others seem to be on a scheduled dose from what I've seen.
It did make her less aggressive which was when I usually used it but it also could make her disorientated and confused and definitely more of a fall risk even though that wasn't an issue at the time, only when she took the Trazodone, for that reason I used it as little as possible.
She took it in conjunction with Donepezil and Citalopram which from what I was told by the nurse at the home was a pretty standard combination when she had a medication review late last year.
K
I wonder if it is taken in conjunction with other drugs this contributes to instability and falls, Kevin. I refused to let John have Respiridone when things were bad and we rode that one out. The higher doses of the Trazadone seemed to suit him better.
Given that there's several of us posted that we've used it then it does make you wonder about the claim "a drug to stop all neurodegenerative brain diseases, including dementia." as it doesn't seem to have worked for any of us.
Don't they know this drug is already being regularly prescribed to people with AZ and I can assure them it didn't stop anything, she continued to decline but less aggressive and more wobbly.
It might well work in mice but I can assure them it did nothing for my wife so if "Prof Mallucci said: "It's time for clinical trials to see if there's similar effects in people and put our money where our mouth is." I'll bet him a tenner it doesn't work.
Come on Prof PM me with the odds you want
K
Don't they know this drug is already being regularly prescribed to people with AZ and I can assure them it didn't stop anything, she continued to decline but less aggressive and more wobbly.
It might well work in mice but I can assure them it did nothing for my wife so if "Prof Mallucci said: "It's time for clinical trials to see if there's similar effects in people and put our money where our mouth is." I'll bet him a tenner it doesn't work.
Come on Prof PM me with the odds you want
K
Given that there's several of us posted that we've used it then it does make you wonder about the claim "a drug to stop all neurodegenerative brain diseases, including dementia." as it doesn't seem to have worked for any of us.
Don't they know this drug is already being regularly prescribed to people with AZ and I can assure them it didn't stop anything, she continued to decline but less aggressive and more wobbly.
It might well work in mice but I can assure them it did nothing for my wife so if "Prof Mallucci said: "It's time for clinical trials to see if there's similar effects in people and put our money where our mouth is." I'll bet him a tenner it doesn't work.
Come on Prof PM me with the odds you want
K
Kevinl, I think the -the academics/doctors - think that it has to be a combination of Trazadone And DBM ( the 'new' drug) that will be most effective.
Twenty years ago, a friend whose wife had been diagnosed with dementia told me that doctors had said that a possible cure was only two years away and that he was hopeful of some help being available for his wife. She has of course since passed away.
We all know that there are numerous research programs and studies regarding dementia being undertaken, all promising that they might have something positive to contribute to those suffering with these dreadful diseases.
Considering that there are over 100 different diseases that can cause dementia, that even diagnosis is still highly debatable and not particularly accurate, that realistic applications of all theses developments are always years away 'following clinical trials',is it any surprise that we are somewhat cynical about announcements such as these?
Three years ago OH was diagnosed with atypical Alzheimers which indicates that the consultant was keeping his options open. GP believes he has some type of mixed dementia and the consultant has now arranged for further neuropsychological testing to see if he can clarify the diagnosis. So maybe we are going to give it a different name but the outcome will still be the same.
Hope is a wonderful thing but false hope is tortuous.
We all know that there are numerous research programs and studies regarding dementia being undertaken, all promising that they might have something positive to contribute to those suffering with these dreadful diseases.
Considering that there are over 100 different diseases that can cause dementia, that even diagnosis is still highly debatable and not particularly accurate, that realistic applications of all theses developments are always years away 'following clinical trials',is it any surprise that we are somewhat cynical about announcements such as these?
Three years ago OH was diagnosed with atypical Alzheimers which indicates that the consultant was keeping his options open. GP believes he has some type of mixed dementia and the consultant has now arranged for further neuropsychological testing to see if he can clarify the diagnosis. So maybe we are going to give it a different name but the outcome will still be the same.
Hope is a wonderful thing but false hope is tortuous.
I think the 'hope' is there for future generations. The enthusiasm of the scientists is that the research opens up a new way of tackling the disease....with new medicines or combinations of medicines. The academics have found two 'off the shelf' compounds (I initially thought only the Trazodone was already being prescribed but it could be both....the news get slightly distorted each time I watch the TV). These compunds in combination have an effect on mice that protects their brains. It isn't certain that the same effect will be seen in humans but they won't know until they do the trial. If the effect is positive then the drugs could be used quite quickly (apparently) but it won't reverse the brain damage of existing patients. Worse case is the drugs don't work in humans but the scientists will continue searching for existing and new compounds that do work in humans....the understanding of how they can protect the brain is just as important as the 'new' drug combination (that's the way I understand it). So hope is definitely on firmer ground.
