Science / Medicine : Alzheimer’s Drug Questioned

An experimental drug for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease must undergo further study before its usefulness can be determined, a researcher testing the drug said last week. Interim data from a study of the drug THA on 100 patients found that there are “substantial” health risks associated with the drug and that review of the study did not find statistical evidence of the drug’s benefit, Mt. Sinai Medical Center researcher Kenneth Davis said.

THA has received wide attention because there is no proven treatment for Alzheimer’s disease, a degenerative brain disorder affecting more than 2 million Americans. Two years ago, Warner-Lambert Co. began a study of the drug after Arcadia psychiatrist William Summers reported improved memory and functioning in his Alzheimer’s patients taking the drug.

However, Davis said that as many as 30% of patients in the Warner-Lambert study showed an increase in liver enzymes suggesting liver toxicity and that 15% had to be taken off the drug for this reason. Davis said THA’s liver toxicity would be acceptable if the drug showed a measurable benefit to patients, but that more patients must be studied before such a determination can be made.