Alzheimer’s may respond to outdated allergy medication

An outdated allergy treatment popular a quarter century ago in Russia, may find a new use in the treatment of Alzheimer’s Disease, researchers say in the British medical journal The Lancet.

It reports that a study conducted in Russia found that Alzheimer’s patients, who were treated with the drug Dimebon,showed significant improvement in their thought processing during a year long period, when compared to patients who were given a placebo.
 
Dimebon was originally designed as an antihistamine for use by allergy sufferers in Russia, but was withdrawn when it was overtaken by more modern drugs.

It reached its height of popularity during the 1980s.  But now, researchers say Dimebon is the first drug to yield year long improvement in those with Alzheimer’s. 
 
The scientists said they believe Dimebon works by stabilising mitochondria, the parts of cells that produce energy.  They also think that the drug slows or inhibits the death of brain cells.
 
However, Dimebon is not widely available outside Russia.
 
In an accompanying commentary published in The Lancet, Professor Alistair Burns, of the Psychiatry Research Group at the University of Manchester UK, and Professor Robin Jacoby, of the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Oxford, said: “Addition of treatment options is good news for patients and clinicians.

“It promotes choice and offers the possibility of bespoke treatment packages which maximise the chances of response.
 
“Doody and colleagues’ trial shows that Dimebon is better than a placebo, which is no mean feat considering the positive placebo responses in dementia.”