AGEING AND NEURODEGENERATION
NEXT STEPS FOR INTERNATIONAL ALZHEIMER’S STUDY
DR BILL BROOKS

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The Dominantly Inherited Alzheimer Network Trials Unit (DIAN-TU) is an international clinical trial program for families with the genetic form of Alzheimer’s disease. DIAN-TU aims to find a drug to prevent or slow the disease process in people with a genetic mutation known to cause Alzheimer’s disease.

DIAN-TU has 36 trial sites in 13 participating countries including Australia, and is led by Professor Randall Bateman of Washington University’s School of Medicine in St Louis. Dr Bill Brooks is the Site Principal Investigator at NeuRA in Sydney, Australia.

The first trial, in which two drugs are being studied, will finish at the end of 2019 after all participants have completed four years of treatment with either active medication or placebo. Preparations are underway to begin trials of a third drug, for which a new group of participants will be recruited.

Families participating in DIAN and DIAN-TU are quite rare, but they hold the key to understanding a lot about Alzheimer’s disease because affected people in these families have a known cause for their disease (a genetic mutation), unlike most people with dementia.

“Participating in these demanding and long-term studies is a big commitment, and we are very grateful to the family members who have taken up the challenge and who continue to contribute so generously,” says Dr Brooks.

NeuRA’s vision for the future is to identify a disease-modifying treatment for Alzheimer’s disease that will not only be effective for these rare families but will also benefit the vast majority of people at risk of Alzheimer’s disease who do not have a genetic cause.

“We hope to show a means of preventing or reducing the brain changes of Alzheimer’s disease. If successful, delivering these changes will also be useful to members of the general community,” says Dr Brooks.

We hope to show a means of preventing or reducing the brain changes of Alzheimer’s disease. If successful, delivering these changes will also be useful to members of the general community.