Mailbox Response

The question was submitted 10/07/2008

Subject: New treatments in the pipeline?

I read a lot of medical news from all over the world. It seems as if a new drug is always "about to come onto the market" and never does!

Are there new medications coming onto the market that will help with Dementia and Alzheimers and when will we see them here in Australia either as a drug trial or at the prescription stage?

Answer from DementiaNet

The recent AD world congress was held in Chicago. Reports were heard about a number of potential treatments that show promise in early phase trials. Unfortunately, the media tend to exaggerate the effectiveness of these drugs because reporters do not understand the complex process necessary for a drug to be proven to be beneficial. It is unlikely that there will be any new treatment for AD available in Australia in the next two years. At present, clinical trial centres in Australia are using a number of biological agents that show promise but all centres need people to participate. Taking part in a clinical trial is really the only way of receiving a new treatment that may be more beneficial than standard drugs. There are clinical trial centres in all capital cities and your GP should know where they are.

The answer was published on DementiaNet 21/08/2008