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I'm currently an undergraduate student @UCIrvine and as I am also an advocacy volunteer for @alznorcalnornev, I have been researching NIH-funded Phase III clinical trial drugs for #Alzheimers! A thread 1/
There's currently 121 agents in clinical trials; 29 are in Phase III trials, 65 are in Phase II trials, and 27 are in Phase I trials. 97 of these agents are in disease modification trials, 12 target cognitive enhancement, and 12 target neuropsychiatric and behavioral symptoms. 2/
Researches tend not to use patients with advanced stage Alzheimer’s because the past drug trials failed due to significant cell death and dysfunction in signaling of neurons in the brain, making the drugs unable to work. 3/
Phase III trials are focusing on treating early stage Alzheimer’s and delaying cognitive impairments/memory loss. Most drugs that are in phase III at the moment look like they target certain molecules, pathogens, or signals that affect the brain, so it can delay memory loss. 4/
One of the drugs I’ve been looking at is #COR388 by @Cortexyme. It’s a small molecule drug that targets pathogens from gum disease/inflammation of gums. 5/
Gum disease has been linked to Alzheimer's disease and the increasing levels of this pathogen have been observed in Alzheimer’s brain tissue. 6
#COR388 is targeted towards early to moderate staged patients with Alzheimers and currently being tested in a few places in CA including @StanfordMed. 7/
Another drug is Anavex 2-73 by @AnavexLifeSci. It targets protein misfolding and oxidative stress, and researchers think it may slow down cognitive decline in patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease. 8/
Researchers also found Anavex 2-73 improved mood and engagement with family and friends which was an unexpected result. 9/
The third drug is CAD106 by @Novartis. It is a vaccine designed to prevent Alzheimer's from developing by stimulating antibodies against beta-amyloid. 10/
Beta amyloid are protein pieces that form plaques which can be harmful to nerve cells. If nerve cells are affected, signaling in the brain may be damaged. 11/
This vaccine is targeted towards people who are cognitively healthy but have two APOE4 genes, which is a gene shown to increase the risk of Alzheimer's. They are at high risk of mild cognitive impairment due to Alzheimer's. 12/
There's so much reason for hope in Alzheimer's research today! As Congress returns for their lame duck session, please join me in urging @RepRoKhanna ... 13/
and your own members of Congress to support an additional $354M for Alzheimer's and dementia research at the @NIH http://p2a.co/Xe78fpG #ENDALZ 14/
