Dr. James Galvin, Board Member of the Lewy Body Dementia Resource Center of New York, hosting the first Clinical Trial for LBD in U.S.
Florida Atlantic University Hosts First U.S. Clinical Trial for Lewy Body Dementia
Per story by Gisele Galoustian of 4/21/2016 – Also at: http://www.fau.edu/newsdesk/articles/lbd-trial-galvin.php:
Florida Atlantic University’s Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine is spearheading the South Florida site for the first U.S. clinical trial for Lewy body dementia (LBD), the second-most common dementia after Alzheimer’s disease. The HEADWAY-DLB is a phase 2b multi-center, double-blind, placebo-controlled study to evaluate an investigational medicine, RVT-101, for dementia with Lewy bodies. Currently, there are no medications available to specifically treat LBD, and patients are typically treated with medications for Alzheimer’s.
The six-month study will enroll approximately 240 patients nationally to evaluate the safety and efficacy of RVT-101, a tablet that works by raising levels of acetylcholine, a vital chemical in the brain that helps with cognition and performing daily activities. Deficits in acetylcholine are a prominent feature of dementia with Lewy bodies.
Because symptoms of LBD mimic other diseases like Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s, it is very difficult to diagnose often taking up to 18 months, with patients seeing a number of physicians over multiple visits. Patients, who are often misdiagnosed, are given medications for psychiatric disorders, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. The only way to confirm whether someone has LBD is with a post-mortem brain autopsy.
Patients diagnosed with dementia with Lewy bodies can enroll in the HEADWAY-DLB study by contacting Katty Savaria, coordinator, at 561-356-4295.
NIH Patient Recruitment for Dementia With Lewy Bodies Clinical Trials:
http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/dementiawithlewybodies/dementiawithlewybodies.htm
- At NIH Clinical Center
- Throughout the U.S. and Worldwide
- NINDS Clinical Trials
From Eurekalert – 4/11/16: Researchers identify tissue biomarker for dementia with lewy bodies and Parkinson’s disease:
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-04/ip-rit041116.php
