有望な新しい認知症治療法を発見：セレン酸ナトリウム

モナシュ大学の研究者らは、60代以下の一般的な認知症に対する新たな治療法の可能性を発見した。 セレン酸ナトリウムは第1相試験で行動上の問題を安定させ、脳の萎縮を遅らせることが示され、行動変異型前頭側頭型認知症の患者に希望を与えている。

セレン酸ナトリウムは、60歳未満で2番目に多い認知症である行動変異型前頭側頭型認知症を遅らせます。

モナシュ大学主導の研究で、60代未満の認知症の中で2番目に多い形態である行動変異型前頭側頭型認知症の患者に対する有望な新しい治療法が発見された。その結果、通常ならエスカレートする行動上の問題が安定し、脳の機能が低下する病気による萎縮。 これは、セレン酸ナトリウムという薬剤が、以下を含む多くの認知症の特徴である認知機能の低下と神経変性損傷を遅らせる可能性があることを示す2回目の臨床試験である。[{” attribute=””>Alzheimer’s Disease.

Behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD) is a rapidly progressing destructive disease and can occur in people as young as 35 years of age. It is characterized by behavioral 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 behavioral symptoms, and reduced rates of brain atrophy over the trial period. The results from the trial, led by Dr. Lucy Vivash, from 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.

Reference: “A phase 1b open-label study of sodium selenate as a disease-modifying treatment for possible behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia” by 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 and Terence J. O’Brien, 5 May 2022, Alzheimer s & Dementia Translational Research & Clinical Interventions.
DOI: 10.1002/trc2.12299

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. For more information please contact [email protected]