BANGOR, Maine - Acadia Hospital and Eastern Maine Medical Center are taking part in a clinical study to assess the effectiveness of a new medication for Alzheimer's disease.
The study will evaluate the effects of T-817MA, a medicine made by Toyama Chemical Co., which is also funding the study. Researchers say the drug has the potential to slow the pace of the disease in those with mild to moderate Alzheimer's.
Cliff Singer, MD, the chief of geriatric neuro-psychiatry at Acadia Hospital and Eastern Maine Medical Center, says Maine residents often leave the state to participate in trials like this.
"We're very proud to be able to bring clinical trial research to a population that doesn't have access to it," Singer says.
To be eligible to participate in the trial, individuals must be between 55 and 85, with mild-to-moderate Alzheimer's. No new Alzheimer's drug has been approved by the FDA since 2003, but researchers are hoping to change that.