AlzDigest

Dr. Jordan Tang

It was nine years ago that Dr. Jordan Tang discovered the enzyme that causes the symptoms – such as memory loss – associated with Alzheimer’s disease. Today, just when that discovery will lead to a cure – or if it will lead to one – remains uncertain, Tang told The Oklahoman newspaper.

The true answer is nobody really knows,” the researcher, who is associated with the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation, was quoted in the paper.

Tang estimated that the drug company eventually developing a cure could be looking at a windfall of $20 billion to $30 billion. But even if a possible effective treatment is discovered, there remains a long process of clearing it through the Food and Drug Administration.

That process could take up to three years, assuming initial tests prove to slow onset of the disease’s symptoms. But if a drug gets into testing, Tang told the paper that pressure from the senior community could expedite the process.

That’s what happened with HIV,” he was quoted as saying. “It was an accelerated process. It conceivably could happen.”

Another challenge in testing and proving the effectiveness of a cure is the length both of the testing process – typically 18 months – and the slow rate at which Alzheimer’s symptoms can reveal themselves. The challenge would be to document the progress of the effects of the disease, comparing subjects suffering from it with others who do not have it, over the year and a half time period. The catch being those suffering from Alzheimer’s might not evidence the symptoms during the test period at a rate sufficient to make the test meaningful.

The reality is this issue might require a three-year study versus and 18-month test, Tang said.

Tang told the paper he believes that an effective treatment will be found. Ironically, during his period of work on Alzheimer’s, two researchers on the team have had parents die while suffering from the disease.

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