The strong effect of csDMARD use found by the U.K. researchers, halving the dementia risk, requires replication in randomized clinical trials to validate csDMARDs as a possible therapeutic pharmacological treatment for dementia. Developing new immunotherapies is always a resource-intensive activity, Dr. Edwards says. “When I talk with my patients these days about the pros and cons of treatment, I mention the evidence from the cardiovascular research and say it may have protective effects from inflammation elsewhere in the body.”
The U.K. group, along with colleagues at Queens University Belfast, has received grant support from the U.K. Alzheimer’s Society for RESIST (Rheumatoid Arthritis Medication And Memory Study), a trial to look at cognitive function in elderly RA patients with mild cognitive impairment and the effects of DMARDs and TNF inhibitors over three years. “The promise is that we may get independent verification that we may have a new treatment for slowing down Alzheimer’s disease progression and, potentially, preventing the disease in a good proportion of patients,” Prof. Holmes adds.
Larry Beresford is a freelance medical journalist in Oakland, Calif.
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