A major international clinical trial has been launched to determine whether an experimental drug can prevent Alzheimer’s disease before memory loss or other symptoms develop in people at high risk.
The phase III study, known as PrevenTRON, will enrol about 1,600 cognitively healthy adults aged between 55 and 80 who have blood markers associated with the early development of Alzheimer’s disease.
Participants will receive trontinemab, an investigational drug developed by Swiss pharmaceutical company Roche, to assess whether early treatment can delay or prevent dementia by targeting the disease before irreversible brain damage occurs.
Researchers say the trial marks a significant shift in Alzheimer’s research, focusing on preventing the disease rather than treating it after symptoms have appeared.
The study was announced at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference in London, where experts described early intervention as one of the most promising approaches to tackling Alzheimer’s disease.
Maria Carrillo, Chief Science Officer at the Alzheimer’s Association, said treating the condition before memory problems emerge could dramatically improve long-term outcomes.
“This is the future of Alzheimer’s care, targeting the earliest stages of the disease, including in its silent stage before memory issues arise.
“This is when treatments may have the greatest benefit — perhaps even keeping people from ever experiencing dementia symptoms.”
Trontinemab works by clearing amyloid plaques, protein deposits that build up in the brain and are strongly linked to Alzheimer’s disease.
Early-stage research suggests the therapy removes these plaques after about three monthly infusions, potentially acting faster than currently approved amyloid-targeting treatments.
The trial also builds on advances in blood-based screening, particularly the p-tau217 biomarker, which researchers say can identify people at risk of developing Alzheimer’s years before symptoms appear.
Data presented at the conference showed the blood test could detect the disease with up to 95 per cent accuracy.
In a separate study involving nearly 2,700 adults with no signs of cognitive impairment, researchers found that individuals with the highest levels of the biomarker had a 78 per cent chance of developing cognitive problems within the next decade.
Rachel Buckley, Associate Professor of Neurology at Harvard Medical School, said positive findings from the trial could transform the way Alzheimer’s disease is managed.
“If these trials are positive, the game changes.”
Despite the optimism, scientists cautioned that larger studies are still needed to confirm whether removing amyloid plaques can meaningfully prevent dementia or significantly delay cognitive decline.
The Alzheimer’s Association International Conference disclosed in a report.
