---
title: "New Drug Trial Could Halt Alzheimer’s Memory Loss"
description: "A new clinical trial is recruiting patients to see if a drug that stops ALS-related neuron death can also help people with Alzheimer's Disease."
date: "2019-01-07"
modified: "2019-01-07"
authors:
  - name: "Dan Robitzski"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/danrobitzski"
url: "https://futurism.com/neoscope/alzheimers-drug-memory-loss"
categories:
  - "Brain"
  - "Health & Medicine"
  - "Neuroscience and Brain"
tags:
  - "als"
  - "alzheimer's disease"
  - "medicine"
  - "neuroscience"
---

# New Drug Trial Could Halt Alzheimer’s Memory Loss

![A new clinical trial is recruiting patients to see if a drug that stops ALS-related neuron death can also help people with Alzheimer's Disease.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/alzheimers-drug-memory-loss.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: NIH/Victor Tangermann\</em\>*

## Treatment Plan

A new nationwide clinical trial is currently recruiting people with Alzheimer's disease to see if a new drug can halt or slow down memory loss and other symptoms.

The trial, [called "T2 Protect AD,"](<http://www.t2protect.org/#!/ABOUT>) involves 48 weeks of treatment and monitoring. Subjects will receive either a placebo or a drug called troriluzole, which has been shown to slow down the rate at which brain cells die off, [according to *WGME*](<https://wgme.com/news/nation-world/new-alzheimers-drug-tested-at-vanderbilt-seeks-to-slow-or-stop-memory-loss-01-04-2019>) — and if it's successful, the trial could chart a new course for dementia treatment.

## Branching Out

Riluzole, the active ingredient of troriluzole and other similar drugs, is a neuroprotectant — it alters chemical pathways in the brain to prevent the buildup of glutamate, a neurotransmitter that's been implicated in the cellular dysfunction associated with neurodegenerative diseases. It's been available as a treatment for amyotophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) since 1995, according to *WGME*. But a new version of the drug, developed by Biohaven Pharmaceuticals, just [received FDA approval](<https://www.biohavenpharma.com/investors/news-events/press-releases/11-26-2018>) as a new treatment mechanism for ALS.

There's good reason to suspect that troriluzole may benefit people with Alzheimer's [in a similar way](<https://www.biohavenpharma.com/investors/news-events/press-releases/07-24-2018>) to how it's used to treat ALS, as the mechanisms of cellular breakdown by the two diseases share similarities.

## Treatment Mechanism

While a great deal of Alzheimer's research focuses on [detection and prevention](<https://futurism.com/neoscope/alzheimers-eye-scan-octa>), T2 Protect AD may instead help doctors develop a new treatment — the findings of the study could give people a new way to manage and lessen their Alzheimer's symptoms, even if they can't be reversed.

"There are a lot of trials out there trying to prevent Alzheimer's disease... and very few for those who have already established dementia," principal investigator Judith Heidebrink [told *Detroit Free Press*](<https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2018/12/28/alzheimers-drug-troriluzole-dementia/2424261002/>). "We need to really have therapies for folks already showing symptoms, as well as prevent the following generation from showing symptoms."

**READ MORE:** [New Alzheimer's drug seeks to slow or stop memory loss](<https://wgme.com/news/nation-world/new-alzheimers-drug-tested-at-vanderbilt-seeks-to-slow-or-stop-memory-loss-01-04-2019>) \[*WGME*\]

***More on Alzheimer's Disease: [TREATMENT TO REVERSE ALZHEIMER’S SYMPTOMS MOVING TO HUMAN TRIALS](<https://futurism.com/neoscope/alzheimers-ultrasound-human-trials>)***

## Author
Dan Robitzki is a senior reporter for Futurism, where he likes to cover AI, tech ethics, and medicine. He spends his extra time fencing and streaming games from Los Angeles, California.

### Author social links  
[Twitter](<https://x.com/danrobitzski>)