Dimebon for moderate-to-severe AD

Pfizer just announced two Phase III clinical trials for ADLOs with moderate to severe AD:

http://www.pfizer.com/news/pre..._press_releases.jsp#

The Phase III CONSTELLATION study will enroll 570 patients already taking Namenda, in the US, Canada and Europe.

http://clinicaltrial.gov/ct2/s...alzheimer%27s&rank=7

The second study, for patients already on Aricept, is only being conducted in Europe and South America.

http://clinicaltrial.gov/ct2/s...alzheimer%27s&rank=9

There will be 80 locations involved in the CONSTELLATION study, and 75 in the CONTACT study, so clearly not all of the locations have been posted yet.

Somehow I missed seeing this so I thought I'd bring it up. It's great that they are allowing moderate to severe patients. JAB, I just saw your post on caregivers forum, can you share more with us here on how your LO is doing and what stage he/she is in?

Thanks, Moonie

I have a question for those already enrolled in the study or anyone else who has an opinion.

Assuming that my Grandma isn't too old to participate and that they'd take her. She's on Namenda and Exelon right now. The study that will take people on Namenda but not other AD meds- could I take her off the Exelon and if they had an open spot in two months (the participants can't be on anything else two months prior to participating)?
Would any of you stop Exelon to get a chance at getting Dimebon?
I wouldn't stop the Exelon until they said that they'd take her as long as she stopped the Exelon. I would hate to stop the Exelon if she ended up with the placebo, but it'd probably be worth it if she got lucky and got the Dimebon.
Any thoughts?

Jellybeans - find out if it is a 6-month trial and if there is an "extension trial" after the 6 months are done. The trial my bro is in is a 6-month trial and then an extension trial when the participant definitely receives the Dimebon. The extension trial is easier in that you do not have to have trial visits nearly as often - every 3 months for as long as you opt to continue - can be until the FDA approves Dimebon.

We did exactly that - stopped the Razadyne my bro had been on for over a year - so we could get him into a Dimebon trial. No regrets.

One thing you might run into is that the trial people may not be able to save a spot for your Grandma. It's usually a first come, first serve and once the trial is filled up, that's it. Be sure to check into all this. Good Luck!

Jellybeans,

I don't know anything about the trials except that most people on this board have seen improvements while taking the real thing. If they promise to give the real thing after the initial trial, I would take my LO off Exelon, especially since you haven't really seen any improvement from it yet. This is just my opinion!

Felicia

Deb Z, thanks. I'll fill out their email application and see what they say.

Felicia,
My Grandma has been on aricept 5mg which is pretty much the same as Exelon for a long time. She did improve initially and I would assume that it's still slowing the progression. It's hard to know. She has only been on the higher dose Exelon patch for a day so far, so it's definitely too early to say if it has done anything. I don't really expect the higher dose to help, just to slow things down a bit. I'd just hate to pull her off of the Exelon and then have no spot be open two months later. Once you stop psych drugs for a period of time, in some people, they don't work anymore.

Hi Jellybeans,

I didn't know that about the Psych drugs, what a tough spot your in. I think you should discuss the Dimebon trial with her doctor and see what he thinks about stopping the Exelon. But be aware that he may not know much about Dimebon since it's so new, so have some information with you when you're talking to him.

Take care, Felicia