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Funding the Care AND Funding the Cure

Posted on: July 14, 2021

In Categories: Featured News & Updates Partners Updates

In the race to lessen the impact of Alzheimer’s, we are focused on funding the care AND funding the cure, which is why we contribute to both UCLA and the Nantz National Alzheimer Center at Houston Methodist respectively.

Houston Methodist was one of the clinical trial sites for aducanumab, the drug recently approved by the FDA. Some think the medication could be a game changer. But others say there hasn’t been enough evidence to support its use. Finding effective treatments and even a cure is, of course, the goal. But Alzheimer’s has proven stubbornly resistant, as evidenced by the fact that the mainstays of therapy only treat symptoms, not the underlying causes.

“Donepezil (sold under the brand name Aricept), improves memory a little bit in some people but, in many, does not,” explains Joseph Masdeu, MD, PhD, director of the Nantz National Alzheimer’s Center at Houston Methodist and a member of the medical advisory board of Biogen, which makes aducanumab. “Another drug, called memantine (Namenda), shows a behavioral benefit in some people but not others.”

“Aducanumab is a different drug entirely. It’s an antibody that binds to amyloid proteins in the brain, leading to reduced levels of protein plaques. The hope is this will alter the underlying course of the disease,” Dr. Masdeu says.

Know that when you add your loved one’s name to the car, you can specify where your contribution goes. And, of course, your donation is matched 100% by our sponsor partners.

We will be making another check presentation to Dr. Masdeu next week in Houston. Please follow along and join us in Racing to End Alzheimer’s.

 

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