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November 22, 2008 11:39:40 AM CST

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Alzheimer's Drug Shows Some Promise

Posted Jun 17, 08 6:10 PM CDT in Science & Health 

(Newser) – A drug currently in experimental trials seems to be effective in battling Alzheimer's disease, the pharmaceutical companies developing it tell the Wall Street Journal. Bapineuzumab—developed by Elan and Wyeth—seems to be helpful in improving cognitive ability in those stricken by the disease, though much more so in patients who don't have a gene that increases risk of the brain disease.

With an estimated 40%-70% of suffers not possessing the Alzheimer's gene, analysts say bapineuzumab could become a blockbuster drug if it reaches market. "Many questions still have to be answered, and the devil will be in the details on issues such as specific dose response and the actual magnitude of the various results," one analyst said. The final stage of drug trial could take two years.

Source Wall Street Journal

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Dolly Berger visits with her husband Andy, who suffers from Alzheimer's disease, at the Lawyer's Glen Retirement Living Center in Charlotte, North Carolina.   (KRT Photos)
Bill Andrew cares for his wife Carol as they try to manage her Alzheimer's disease in their Winter Haven, Florida, home on April 28, 2005.   (KRT Photos)
Wyeth's headquarters in Madison, N.J., is seen in a file photo from April 28, 2004.   (AP Photo/Daniel Hulshizer, File)
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Alzheimer's • mental illness • aging • Wyeth • drug trials


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