The University of Saskatchewan is submitting an application to begin a Phase Two clinical trial on a drug that has shown promise in treating Alzheimer’s.  The drug is a derivative of a protein that has been previously used to treat anemia.

Dr. Ron Geyer, a professor at the USask College of Medicine, says in a prior clinical study, 82 per cent of trial participants showed no further deterioration of their cognitive state, and 54 per cent saw improved cognition, from those who were given the drug and not the placebo.

The patients wanted to stay on the drug for a follow-up year of treatment, and in that second year, 80 per cent of patients had stabilized cognitive function, whereas 100 per cent of the placebo group showed cognitive decline.

Phase two will study 100 participants, with 50 of them taking a placebo.  Any clinician with Alzheimer’s patients can offer a recruitment form for the study.

Geyer says they are currently submitting an application to Health Canada, and it should be approved within a month, and the trial will take two to three years to complete.