Drug can curb dementia’s delusions, researchers find
MARILYNN MARCHIONE
AP Chief Medical Writer
SAN DIEGO (AP) — A drug that curbs delusions in Parkinson's patients did the same for people with Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia in a study that was stopped early because the benefit seemed clear.
If regulators agree, the drug could become the first treatment specifically for dementia-related psychosis and the first new medicine for Alzheimer's in nearly two decades. It targets some of the most troubling symptoms that patients and caregivers face — hallucinations that often lead to anxiety, aggression, and physical and verbal abuse.
Results were disclosed Wednesday at a conference in San Diego.
"This would be a very important advance," said one independent expert, Dr. Howard Fillit, chief science officer of the Alzheimer