Alzheimer’s researchers are pushing forward to find treatments that will forestall or slow the progression of Alzheimer’s disease. One new drug in the pipeline is Rember. A reader asks: I have been hearing about a new Alzheimer's medication called Rember. What is your opinion of this drug?
A. Rember is an unapproved, experimental drug based on a substance called methylene blue that's been used for decades to treat urinary tract infections and carbon monoxide poisoning.
Researchers recently began testing a purified form of the substance (Rember) that targets the tangles of abnormal tau protein found in the brain cells of Alzheimer's patients. Basic studies suggest that Rember dissolves tau, and a preliminary study in humans suggests that a new formulation of the drug may slow or arrest the disease process among people with early Alzheimer's.
The researcher who developed Rember presented his group's results at the 2008 Alzheimer's Association International Conference on Alzheimer's Disease. The group conducted a randomized double-blind trial in 321 people with mild to moderate Alzheimer's. Participants received 30, 60, or 100 mg of Rember or a placebo three times a day. After 24 weeks, people with moderate Alzheimer's who took 60 mg of the drug showed significantly less cognitive decline than those on the placebo. This advantage was sustained when the trial was extended to 50 and 84 weeks.
Although these results are promising, Rember's apparent benefits must be confirmed in appropriately designed, larger trials. A number of other compounds that have had similarly promising results have not proven to be effective when well-designed trials were carried out.
