Alzheimer's drug study in Orlando area offers hope to patients

Orlando Sentinal

An experimental drug, bapineuzumab, is being tested in the Orlando area and coordinated by Dr. William Honeycutt of Neurology Associates.

By Fernando Quintero | Sentinel Staff Writer

Sandra Thomas would have done anything to get her father back.

The Lake Mary resident lost him to Alzheimer's disease in 2007. During the final stages of the disease, she watched him slowly deteriorate from someone with a quick wit who played golf three times a week into a helpless man who could barely walk or speak.

"Alzheimer's stole my father from me. That's a tough thing to have to live with," Thomas said. "I want to find a cure for this terrible disease."

Although there is no cure for Alzheimer's disease, a new investigational drug aimed at slowing its progression is being tested in the Orlando area.

A call for people to take part in the study is offering hope to an estimated 40,000 Central Florida residents affected by the debilitating disease.

Current medications for Alzheimer's disease, a disorder characterized by progressive loss of memory and cognitive function as brain cells are lost, are mostly aimed at making the most of remaining brain activity.

Scientific evidence suggests........read the whole story

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