The doctors are optimistic to discover a cure against the disease

Photo Pierre-Paul Poulin
Still incurable, Alzheimer’s disease is the poor cousin of research, ” said Dr. Ziad Nasreddine. It is still encouraged by the results of the new study by the american Biogen.

Héloïse Archambault

Saturday, 24 February, 2018 01:00

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Saturday, 24 February, 2018 01:00

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Although Alzheimer’s remains a mystery to scientists, the prospect of discovering a cure in the next few years gives hope to the specialists.

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“When I started my career, 25 years ago, there was almost nothing on Alzheimer’s,” recalls Sylvie Belleville, director of research at the Institut universitaire de gériatrie de Montréal.

“20 years from now, I would be surprised that we didn’t find anything “, she says, optimistic.

“The hope lies in the research, this is what gives me encouragement,” adds Ziad Nasreddine, neurologist in Brossard.

Before the meteoric rise of Alzheimer’s disease in the world, which represents the majority of dementia cases, the quest for a cure takes a lot of researchers. But for the past 20 years, only one drug that slows the progression of the disease at a certain stage has been successful, and grieves the Dr. Nasreddine.

“Alzheimer’s is a sentence to death. It is very difficult to give a diagnosis, even after 20 years, ” he says.

According to this specialist, the Alzheimer’s remains the poor relation of the research, and the government investments are low.

“There are 10 times more studies on cancer and cardiology, with the result that one finds 10 times more things,” he says.

The same track

Furthermore, it deplores the fact that the pharmaceutical companies are launching all in the same way for years.

“As soon as they see a track somewhere, they go there because they are afraid they will miss something promising,” he says.

For his part, the minister of Health, Dr. Gaétan Barrette, says that the government is dependent on the market orientation of companies that are doing the research.

“In the machine is pharmaceutical, if there is one thing that one is unable to predict, it is which — and when — will succeed to find the molecule that will cure or improve the disease. It’s worth a lot for Alzheimer’s disease. “

Currently, the research shows that the first signs of the disease appear up to 25 years before symptoms. Among the ‘protective’ factors, we note a high level of education, cognitive stimulation, and healthy lifestyle habits.

“The big challenge is to find biomarkers 20 years before the disease is expressed,” says Dr. Howard Bergman, who chaired the report, Alzheimer’s Plan, as filed with the department of Health in 2009.

“Yes, it is necessary to seek medication. But we must not forget other types of interventions, such as prevention, ” he adds.

Promising study

Encouraged by the research, Dr. Nasreddine is pleased with the results of the american study, Biogen, published in 2016.

Through the injection of antibodies, patients saw their amyloid plaques in the brain (causing Alzheimer’s) disappear. Their loss of memory are also stabilized.

“This is extremely important as discovery. This is the first time that it removes signs of the disease and we can stop evolution, ” he says.

Other phases of this study will continue in the coming years.