An investigational amyloid antibody treatment called solanezumab is being evaluated by Northwestern University School of Medicine and Rush University Medical Center in Chicago for its efficacy in slowing memory loss caused by Alzheimer's disease. The desired effect is to stem forgetfulness before neurodegeneration sets in.

Northwestern announced this week that a study, the Anti-Amyloid Treatment in Asymptomatic Alzheimer's study (A4), is currently engaging high-risk but asymptomatic men and women between the ages 65 to 85 with elevated levels of amyloid to see if they can head off symptoms with the investigational therapy by diminishing amyloid deposition in the brain.

"The A4 trial is a landmark study to prevent Alzheimer's disease," said Sandra Weintraub, principal investigator at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine site and a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences in a press release. "To date, our focus has been on trying to cure the disease but we have learned that by the time memory loss appears, it is too late. The information we gain from the A4 study will help us to know if it is possible to stop the disease before it affects thinking abilities and daily functioning."

Northwestern University School of Medicine and Rush University Medical Center are not alone. The A4 study will eventually grow to include research from an estimated 60 or more study sites across America, Canada and Australia and span the course of three years.

"There exists no effective preventive treatment for Alzheimer's disease, which we now know may be an underlying cause of five to six times as many deaths than commonly reported," said Neelum Aggarwal, MD, a neurologist and Rush site principal investigator in the release. "This new study gives us hope, but we need to increase our efforts, both in the hospital clinics and in the community, to enroll a diverse group of study participants including Hispanic, Caucasian, African-American males and females to understand the specific outcomes of this study on each group.”