Five National Clinical Trials for Alzheimer's Disease Underway at SIU Med School

Five national Alzheimer's disease clinical drug trials are being conducted at Southern Illinois University School of Medicine and its Center for Alzheimer Disease and Related Disorders (CADRD) in Springfield.

Three of the trials are directed by Dr. Dennis McManus, associate professor of neurology and a member of SIU's CADRD. Each looks at the benefits and side effects of a specific drug in patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease.

The three trials are - a phase III trial of Alzhemed from Neurochem, Inc.; a phase II trial of a drug, NS 2330 from Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc.; and a phase II trial of a drug, ONO-2506PO, from ONO Pharma USA. For more information on these trials, contact Linda Read, R.N., 217-545-8034 weekdays or email lread@siumed.edu.

Two trials, joint projects of SIU's neurology and psychiatry departments, are directed by Dr. Tom Ala, associate professor of neurology, also a member of CADRD, with Sandra Vicari, Ph.D., assistant professor of psychiatry. Both are coordinated by the Alzheimer's Disease Cooperative Study and sponsored by the National Institutes of Health.

One study is testing the drug, quetiapine, to see if it will help treat the behavioral problems of people who have dementia along with symptoms of Parkinson's disease. The second is testing whether taking high-dose supplements of vitamins B6, B12 and folate will slow the disease progress by lowering the homocysteine levels in Alzheimer's patients. An amino acid in the blood, homocysteine is an indicator of vascular health. For more information on these trials, contact Sue Urish, R.N., 217-545-7626 or Summer Allen, L.P.N., 217-545-7263 weekdays or email surish@siumed.edu or sallen@siumed.edu .

SIU's Alzheimer Center in Springfield is made up of a team of specialists who use a variety of diagnostic techniques to provide a comprehensive evaluation because no single test or examination can yield a definite diagnosis. SIU uses a network of 26 primary provider sites serving 93 counties as part of its Springfield-based center.

The SIU Alzheimer Center uses a toll-free telephone number, 1-800-DIAL-SIU (1-800-342-5748). The Center's web site is www.siumed.edu/cadrd/.

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