Newswise — It seems that there is no shortage of bad news when it comes to possible treatments for Alzheimer’s disease. Drug candidates initially touted as cures end up failing miserably when tested in patients. What do these setbacks mean? Are doctors barking up the wrong tree? A Webinar discussion and a news article in Alzforum (www.alzforum.org) now provide a unique perspective from the trenches and, contrary to what’s portrayed in the general media, researchers’ views are cautious but upbeat.
In a Webinar posted on 30 September 2011, a panel of leading academic and pharma researchers in the Alzheimer’s field debated what they have learned from recent trial failures and what researchers have to do to move forward. In their presentations, available at http://www.alzforum.org/res/for/journal/detail.asp?liveID=195, panelists agreed that the lack of success so far in no way predicts what the future holds. A different set of Alzheimer’s disease experts also spoke to Alzforum science writer Madolyn Bowman Rogers about prospects for finding treatments. In her story “Scientists See Hope on Horizon Despite Clinical Disappointments” (http://www.alzforum.org/new/detail.asp?id=2904), Rogers reports that researchers are optimistic about the progress that has been made in understanding biomarkers, and the preclinical phase of the disease and how to tackle it. One of the biggest hurdles is the lack of adequate resources for bringing those discoveries to patients.
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