Monthly Archives: January 2013
'Promising' dementia drug made from pigs' brains could help 200,000 sufferers
The new drug called cerebrolysin improves concentration, memory and mood among those suffering with vascular dementia
- The new drug is licensed in some countries but not in the UK or U.S.
- No serious side effects were reported from taking the drug
By Jenny Hope
PUBLISHED: 00:46, 31 January 2013 | UPDATED: 03:32, 31 January 2013
The new drug called cerebrolysin improves concentration, memory processing and mood in patients
Dementia sufferers may benefit from a ‘promising’ new treatment made from pigs’ brains, say researchers.
The new drug – called cerebrolysin – improves concentration, memory processing and mood in patients with a certain kind of dementia known as vascular dementia, which affects up to 200,000 Britons.
No treatment has yet been specifically developed for vascular dementia.
But the new drug is licensed in some countries for dementia, stroke and traumatic brain injury – although not yet here or in the US.
Researcher Li He of the Department of Neurology at Sichuan University in Sichuan, China, said ‘Our review suggests that Cerebrolysin can help improve cognitive and global function in patients with mild to moderate severity vascular dementia.’
Cerebrolysin is a drug made from pig brain proteins that has produced some positive results from small vascular dementia trials.
Larger trials are now underway.
But the drug is not easy to administer, with regular intravenous infusions necessary, says the review.