Study to Look at Vitamin E Effect on Alzheimer Patients

NEWS RELEASE
For immediate release

Contact: Sara Buss, Academic Health Center, 612.624.2449
              Molly Portz, Academic Health Center, 612.625.2640

U OF M RESEARCHERS STUDY VITAMIN E
EFFECT ON ALZHEIMER PATIENTS
Clinical trial will begin at Minneapolis VA Medical Center

MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL (Jan. 24, 2004) -- Researchers at the University of Minnesota and the Minneapolis VA Medical Center will receive $8.1 million in research funding to study the effects of vitamin E on people diagnosed with mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease.

The study will also look at the effect of memantine, a drug normally used for patients with moderate to severe Alzheimer’s, and the effect of a vitamin E-memantine combination on the mild to moderate group. Vitamin E is thought to protect brain cells from certain types of damage.

Maurice Dysken, M.D., director of the VA Geriatric Research, Education, and Clinical Center (GRECC) and University professor of psychiatry, is heading the clinical trial, which will recruit patients from 10 Veterans Administration facilities, including Minneapolis.  The research dollars come from the Veterans Administration’s Cooperative Studies Program, which aims to support large-scale definitive research.

“These studies are meant to be definitive,” Dysken said.  “At the conclusion of the study we will have solid evidence about whether vitamin E and memantine can improve the functioning of recently diagnosed Alzheimer patients.”

Dysken said the goal is to see if vitamin E, memantine, or the combination of the two can slow the progression of Alzheimer’s disease.  Researchers will evaluate patients’ functioning based on a scale that measures how well patients can independently perform daily life activities, such as cooking, telephoning, and shopping as well as basic activities such as bathing, eating, and dressing.  They will also measure memory, behavior, dependence, and the burden on the patients’ primary caregivers. Patients will remain on standard treatments for mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease while on the trial.

A companion study will create a DNA bank from participants’ blood samples to look at genetic risk factors for Alzheimer’s and to see if the study treatments have different effects on clinical response based on genetics.  In addition, the pharmacological relationships between blood levels of vitamin E and memantine will be examined by Govind Vatassery, Ph.D., director of the neurochemistry laboratory at the VA and University professor of psychiatry.  Dysken hopes to begin the four-year study in the summer 2005.

The Academic Health Center is home to the University of Minnesota’s six health professional schools and colleges as well as several health-related centers and institutes. Founded in 1851, the University is one of the oldest and largest land grant institutions in the country. The AHC prepares the new health professionals who improve the health of communities, discover and deliver new treatments and cures, and strengthen the health economy.

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