MSGID: 1:317/3 6274a4a9   
   PID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
   TID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
    Promising treatment for dementia    
    Sodium selenate slows behavioural variant frontotemporal dementia -   
   - second most common dementia in under 60s    
      
     Date:   
         May 5, 2022   
     Source:   
         Monash University   
     Summary:   
         A new study has found a promising new treatment for patients with   
         behavioral variant fronto-temporal dementia, the second most common   
         form of dementia in the under 60s -- resulting in a stabilizing of   
         what would normally be escalating behavioral issues, and a slowing   
         of brain shrinkage due to the disease. It is the second clinical   
         trial to show that the drug, sodium selenate, may slow cognitive   
         decline and neuro- degenerative damage that is the hallmark of   
         many dementias including Alzheimer's Disease.   
      
      
      
   FULL STORY   
   ==========================================================================   
   A Monash University led study has found a promising new treatment for   
   patients with behavioural variant frontotemporal dementia, the second most   
   common form of dementia in the under 60s -- resulting in a stabilising   
   of what would normally be escalating behavioural issues, and a slowing   
   of brain shrinkage due to the disease. It is the second clinical trial   
   to show that the drug, sodium selenate, may slow cognitive decline and   
   neurodegenerative damage that is the hallmark of many dementias including   
   Alzheimer's Disease.   
      
      
   ==========================================================================   
   Behavioural variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD) is a rapidly   
   progressing destructive disease and can occur in people as young as   
   35 years of age. It is characterised by behavioural disturbances and   
   personality changes and can be highly disruptive and distressing for   
   both patients and their families.   
      
   Currently there are no treatments or cures for bvFTD and typical survival   
   is 5- 7 years from diagnosis.   
      
   The Phase 1 trial run in conjunction with the Royal Melbourne   
   Hospital, the only one in Australia targeting non-genetic bvFTD,   
   and one of a handful worldwide, showed that the drug, sodium selenate   
   is safe and well-tolerated in patients with bvFTD over a period of 12   
   months. Importantly, the majority of patients receiving sodium selenate   
   showed no change in their cognitive or behavioural symptoms, and reduced   
   rates of brain atrophy over the trial period.   
      
   The results from the trial, led by Dr Lucy Vivash, from the Monash   
   University's Department of Neuroscience, have just been published in the   
   journal, Alzheimer's and Dementia: Translational Research and Clinical   
   Interventions.   
      
   In almost half of the cases with bvFTD, the damage to the neurons in the   
   brain is caused by the build-up of a protein called tau. This protein is a   
   major target for research in the prevention and treatment of Alzheimer's   
   and other dementias, as a way to reverse the neurodegeneration caused   
   by this tau accumulation.   
      
   According to Dr Vivash, sodium selenate upregulates an enzyme in the brain   
   that effectively breaks down the tau protein. "We have previously shown,   
   in a Phase 2 trial, that sodium selenate given to patients with mild to   
   moderate Alzheimer's Disease resulted in less neurodegeneration than in   
   those who did not," she said. Importantly those patients in the trial   
   with higher levels of selenium, a breakdown product of sodium selenate,   
   in their bloodstream showed less cognitive decline.   
      
   The research group is now conducting a larger study at many hospitals   
   across Australia and New Zealand to further test whether this drug is   
   beneficial for patients with bvFTD.   
      
      
   ==========================================================================   
   Story Source: Materials provided by Monash_University. Note: Content   
   may be edited for style and length.   
      
      
   ==========================================================================   
   Journal Reference:   
      1. Lucy Vivash, Charles B. Malpas, Christian Meletis, Meghan Gollant,   
         Dhamidhu Eratne, Qiao‐Xin Li, Stuart McDonald, William   
         T. O'Brien, Amy Brodtmann, David Darby, Christopher Kyndt, Mark   
         Walterfang, Christopher M. Hovens, Dennis Velakoulis, Terence   
         J. O'Brien. A phase 1b open‐label study of sodium selenate   
         as a disease‐modifying treatment for possible behavioral   
         variant frontotemporal dementia.   
      
         Alzheimer's & Dementia: Translational Research & Clinical   
         Interventions, 2022; 8 (1) DOI: 10.1002/trc2.12299   
   ==========================================================================   
      
   Link to news story:   
   https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/05/220505102147.htm   
      
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