I had an appointment with my Neurologist today in Portland. He believes Im  still MCI, but he is going to sign me up for the Tauriel Study, which will provide me with an Amyloid PET Scan. If I have the tangles in my brain as evidenced by the PET Scan, then I will be given a new experimental drug in hopes of it preventing the tangles.

Has anyone heard of this study or new drug?

 http://www.providencejournal.com/news/20180212/new-drug-to-treat-alzheimers-disease-under-study-at-butler-hospital

The clinical trial seeks to assess the safety, tolerability and effectiveness of the experimental drug Tauriel in people with early to mild signs of Alzheimer’s, according to the hospital’s Memory and Aging Program.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Already global leaders in research trials for medications to treat Alzheimer’s disease, scientists at Butler Hospital’s Memory and Aging Program are beginning study of yet another drug that could prove effective in the treatment of the fatal disease.

“As one of the first to register a participant, the purpose of the study is to assess the safety, tolerability, and efficacy of RO7105705, an experimental drug in people with early to mild signs of” Alzheimer’s, the hospital said in a release.

“Alzheimer’s disease is an imminent public health crisis, currently without a cure,” said Butler neuropsychiatrist Dr. Danielle Goldfarb, a study investigator. “Adding this clinical trial to the many underway here allows us to learn more about the disease and possible treatments.”

The experimental drug acts on tau, a brain protein that forms tangles inside neurons and is a culprit in the development of the disease. The Butler group, affiliated with The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, is studying other interventions against tau — and also against amyloid protein, which forms harmful plaque in connections between nerve cells. Recruits are being sought through a variety of means, including so-called”swab parties.”

“The new study, called Tauriel, is a clinical trial sponsored by Genentech, Inc., a member of the Roche Group,” Butler said in a statement. “The trial is designed for people with mild cognitive impairment or mild [Alzheimer’s] dementia, determined through cognitive testing and brain images showing levels of amyloid protein and tau protein tangles.”

Dr. Stephen P. Salloway, director of Butler’s Memory and Aging Program, called the new trial “a big step in the war against Alzheimer’s.”

Salloway said, “this study brings new clinical trial options for patients with early Alzheimer’s disease, and because the study uses a new PET scan technique to visualize and measure the effects of this intervention on tau pathology, it could also prove to be a major advance in brain imaging.”

Participants in the double-blind, placebo-controlled study will be from 50 to 80 years old and have “mild cognitive impairment or mild [Alzheimer’s] dementia,” the hospital said, and will be followed for two or more years.

For more information about this and other Alzheimer’s research that the Butler group is conducting, visit butler.org/memory or call (401) 455-6402.

Im looking forward to this study. Within the next few weeks, I will be contacted to report to the OHSU (Oregon Health and Sciences University). I will first be put through a battery of cognitive testing. If my scores fall within the guidlines to be accepted in to the study, I will be then given a PET Scan, and also a lumbar punch. If these two tests show evidence of the tangles of the plaques in my brain, I will then start the blind study drug test. My Neurologist who I met with yesterday with the Portland VA system is also one of the DRs leading the study with OHSU, so since he recommended me for the study, Im confident I will get in. 

Im a little scared of what the PET scan might show, but Im excited to get some kind of answers for now.

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Andrew, I have not heard of that study.  I hope you will be able to get your PET scan.

Iris L.

During the screening process for this trial, due to a meningioma I have had for 6 years, I was disqualified from participating in this study. Meningiomas are considered a brain tumor, but its not actually in the brain, but its located in the meninges  which is the membranes in which the brain is housed. Its very small, and has not grown in 6 years, and according to my Neurologist and Neuro surgeon, should never cause me any problems.

I'm sorry you were disqualified, Andrew.  I know you were looking forward to getting some answers.  

Iris L.

Thanks Iris.

Im not really disappointed. Once I read all the screening documents and protocols, I discovered  that none of the test results to include the MRI and PET scans would of been made available to me or my Drs. However, if I would've been accepted in the study after having the PET, than I would’ve known my results were positive, or they would not of accepted me into the study.

What Im going to do when I see a different Neurologist in 2 weeks is find out where they do Pet scans in my area, and pay for it myself. 

The marketing Posts have been reported to Administration -

J.