Sun Health Research Institute enrolling participants

SUN CITY Researchers at Sun Health Research Institute announced today they are accepting volunteers into a clinical trial of an experimental treatment aimed at improving memory and thinking in patients with Alzheimer ’ s disease.

The investigational treatment is being developed by Abbott. It is designed to activate receptors on nerve cells in the brain that regulate the release of neurotransmitters, chemicals that nerve cells use to communicate with one another. In patients with Alzheimer’s disease, these nerve cells lose the ability to communicate with one another and eventually they die.

“ Finding new, more effective treatments for Alzheimer ’s disease is an absolute necessity,” said Marwan Sabbagh, MD, chief medical/scientific officer at Sun Health Research Institute’s. “We are pleased to make the Abbott study available to our patients. ”  

Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive, terminal brain disorder that affects an estimated 5 million Americans. Those afflicted with the illness slowly lose their memory and their ability to think, communicate and complete basic tasks. It is the sixth-leading cause of death in the United States. This Phase 2, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study will compare the effectiveness and safety of six doses of ABT-089 to placebo taken over 12 weeks of treatment
It will include up to 400 participants from approximately 35 sites in the United States. It is open to individuals between the ages of 55 and 90 who have received a diagnosis of mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease. Participants must be on stable doses of Federal Drug Administration-approved acetylcholinesterase inhibitors, including ARICEPT ® (donepezil HCl tablets EXELON ® PATCH (rivastigmine), and RAZADYNE reg; ER (galantamine) for 90 days prior to beginning the study.
For more information about this study, please contact: 623-875-6500 About Sun Health Research Institute www.shri.org and www.bannerhealth.com
About the Arizona Alzheimer’s Consortium
The Arizona Alzheimer’s Consortium (AAC) capitalizes on the complementary resources of its eight member institutions to promote the scientific understanding and early detection of Alzheimer's disease and find effective disease-stopping and prevention therapies. The AAC is comprised of both the NIA-funded Arizona Disease Core Center (ADCC) and the state-funded Arizona Alzheimer’s Research Center (AARC). The AAC's member research institutions include Arizona State University, the Banner Alzheimer’s Institute, the Barrow Neurological Institute, Mayo Clinic Arizona, Sun Health Research Institute, the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) and the University of Arizona