" Potential Alzheimer's Treatment Fails to Slow Cognitive...

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Potential Alzheimer's Treatment Fails to Slow Cognitive Decline
By Kelly Young
Edited by David G. Fairchild, MD, MPH, and Lorenzo Di Francesco, MD, FACP, FHM

The investigational drug idalopirdine doesn't seem to be effective in reducing cognitive decline in patients with Alzheimer disease, according to findings from three phase III trials published in JAMA. Idalopirdine is a selective 5-hydroxytryptamine-6 receptor antagonist.
Roughly 2500 patients with mild-to-moderate Alzheimer's who had been taking cholinesterase inhibitors for at least 4 months were randomized to receive add-on treatment with idalopirdine (10–60 mg/day) or placebo. In all studies, the primary outcome — change in cognitive score at 24 weeks — did not differ across the groups.
An editorialist points out that a phase II trial of idalopirdine had shown promise, but those patients received a higher daily dose of 90 mg and also had a higher dropout rate.