健康英语新闻:Drug removing amyloid plaques from Alzheimer's patients brain being developed

BEIJING, Oct. 11 (Xinhuanet) -- An experimental drug that can remove amyloid plaques from the brains of Alzheimer's patients is being developed by Swiss Roche Holding AG in a small early-stage study, according to a report published in the Archives of Neurology on Monday.

Researchers suspect the build-up of such plaques may be a cause of the memory robbing disease, although that theory has yet to be definitively proved.

Gantenerumab, a biotech drug designed to bind to amyloid plaques in the brain and remove them, is being targeted at the early stages of Alzheimer's with the hope it can slow progression of the disease while patients are still able to function.

The Phase I study of 16 Alzheimer's patients tested gantenerumab at two doses against a placebo over six months of treatment.

The Roche drug led to a dose-dependent reduction of brain amyloid, while amyloid load increased in patients receiving a placebo, the report said.

The next step will be to investigate whether removal of brain amyloid translates into clinical benefit for patients at doses of the experimental drug that are well tolerated and safe, the report said.

Much larger trials and further study will be needed to fully understand how gantenerumab works and whether it can stave off Alzheimer's, said the report.

Roche is approaching the disease far earlier because amyloid accumulates for 15 years before dementi.