Early results are being unveiled today from a clinical trial examining whether low-cost well-tested drugs can help prevent cognitive decline and dementia following a stroke.
Preliminary results are presented today (23 May) at the Alzheimer’s Society Annual Conference held in London, UK.
The study is focusing on patients who have suffered lacunar strokes, a form of ischaemic stroke which causes damage to the smallest blood vessels in the brain. Lacunar strokes may be involved in the development of 40% of dementias, even some cases of Alzheimer’s disease, but there is no proven treatment.
The first stage of the study found positive results for these patients to take the drugs cilostazol and isosorbide mononitrate.
Now the second stage, funded by the British Heart Foundation and the Alzheimer’s Society, will involve more patients and look at the impact on cognitive decline, and the risk of future lacuna strokes.
Both drugs are cheap, isosorbide mononitrate in particular, at 7 pence per tablet.
Researcher Professor Joanna Wardlaw at the University of Edinburgh, UK, will lead the project.
She says: "Research into lacunar strokes has often fallen in to the ‘gap’ between stroke research and dementia research so it hasn’t always been easy to find funding.
"I’m thrilled to see two charities working together to fund our research so that we can bring benefits to people who have had a lacunar stroke, and are at risk of developing cognitive decline, as soon as possible."
Dr Doug Brown of the Alzheimer’s Society commented: "With no new dementia drug in 15 years, but one person every three minutes developing the condition, the race is on to find desperately needed drugs that can prevent people getting dementia."
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