New Alzheimer's Disease Treatment Shows Promise

Researchers have found that a compound called NIC5-15 might be a safe and effective treatment to stabilize cognitive performance in patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease (AD).

The two investigators, Giulio Maria Pasinetti, M.D., Ph.D., and Hillel Grossman, M.D., from Mount Sinai School of Medicine (New York, NY, USA), presented phase IIA preliminary clinical findings at the Alzheimer's Association 2009 International Conference on Alzheimer's Disease (ICAD) in Vienna, Austria, on July 12, 2009.

NIC5-15's potential to preserve cognitive performance will be additionally assessed in a phase IIB clinical trial. Early evidence suggests that NIC5-15 is a safe and tolerable natural compound that may reduce the progression of AD-related dementia by preventing the formation of beta-amyloid plaque, a waxy substance that accumulates between brain cells and impacts cognitive function.

"With Alzheimer's disease affecting 5.2 million Americans, another 5 million with early-state disease, and nearly a half million new cases reported annually, treatments like NIC5-15 would make a significant difference in the lives of many Alzheimer's patients,” stated Dr. Pasinetti, professor of psychiatry, neuroscience, and geriatrics and adult development, in the department of psychiatry at Mount Sinai School of Medicine. "We are hopeful that the follow up clinical study will support this preliminary evidence.”

"There are no FDA- [U.S. Food and Drug Administration-] approved Alzheimer's disease-modifying drugs available today,” said Dr. Hillel Grossman, assistant professor of psychiatry, codirector of the Clinical Research Core of the Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, and clinical director of the Mount Sinai Memory and Aging Center. "Current drugs approved for use help maintain cognitive function, but only for a limited time. NIC5-15 is part of a new class of natural compound we found to have the potential of precluding the generation of ß-amyloid and, eventually, attenuating cognitive deterioration in preclinical models of Alzheimer's disease.”

The study was conducted at the Mount Sinai Alzheimer's Disease Research Center (ADRC). Phase IIB clinical trials on NIC5-15 are expected to begin sometime later in 2009.

Dr. Pasinetti has a patent pending for the use of NIC5-15 in the treatment of AD. The patent application was filed on his behalf by the Mount Sinai School of Medicine.

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