Two recent developments in Alzheimer’s disease research offer new hope for patients and their families. Among these, in June, Tiziana Life Sciences received Food and Drug Administration clearance to use intranasal foralumab in its first patient with moderate Alzheimer’s disease under the FDA’s Expanded Access investigational new drug program.
Howard L. Weiner, MD, principal investigator and chairman of Tiziana’s Scientific Advisory Board, expressed excitement about the potential of the treatment, which targets neuroinflammation caused by toxic protein accumulation in the brain: “Given that nasal foralumab dampens microglial inflammation in subjects with advanced progressive MS and microglial activation is a prominent feature of Alzheimer’s disease, Tiziana is hopeful that nasal foralumab will help slow the progression of cognitive decline in this first patient.”
Meanwhile, researchers from Amsterdam University Medical Center have developed models to predict cognitive decline rates in early Alzheimer’s patients. The study, published in Neurology, analyzed 961 individuals with mild cognitive impairment or mild dementia. Pieter J. van der Veere, MD, the study’s principal author, emphasized the importance of such predictive tools: “The rate of cognitive decline varies greatly from person to person, and people are very interested in what to expect from the disease in themselves or their loved ones, so better prediction models are urgently needed.”
The study found that for a hypothetical person with mild cognitive impairment, it would take about six years to reach moderate dementia. However, with treatments reducing decline by 30%, this could be extended to 8.6 years. For those with mild dementia, the progression to more severe stages could be delayed by a year with similar treatments.
These advancements offer promising directions for Alzheimer’s research, potentially improving patient care and quality of life. As van der Veere noted, “In the future, we hope that models will help make predictions about these questions about quality of life and daily functioning.”
