The month of June brings the first annual Alzheimer’s and brain awareness month.  The idea is to bring awareness to Alzheimer’s disease and how you can make a difference.  Just this past week, a major study began to see if an experimental drug can protect healthy seniors whose brains show signs they are at risk of Alzheimer’s disease.

Scientists will eventually scan the brains of thousands of older volunteers across the World to find those with the protein believed to be a key player in the development of Alzheimer’s disease—amyloid beta.  Having this protein doesn’t guarantee that someone will eventually develop Alzheimer’s disease, however, the goal is to find out if it will make a difference by learning this much earlier.  “We have to get them at the stage when we can save their brains,” said Dr. Reisa Sperling of Boston’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School.

The study will either infuse seniors with the experimental medicine (Solanezumab) or a dummy drug.  Solanezumab is intended to catch amyloid protein before it builds into the brain and triggers the onset of Alzheimer’s disease.  In earlier studies the drug didn’t act as a “cure” for Alzheimer’s, however, it did appear to slow down the mental decline in patients with a mild or early form of the disease.

Prior to scanning anyone’s brain, interested participants will undergo cognitive tests to make certain their memory is normal.  In addition, volunteers must be willing to learn their amyloid levels with researchers having the capabilities to turn away those they believe won’t react well to the news.  The goal of this study is to widen the focus of Alzheimer’s disease beyond simply just a genetic link.

To learn more about this study, please click here.