“We’ve certainly seen individual patients, who both seem to be getting side effects from the drugs and who have shown significant improvements,” Professor Macfarlane told AAA.
“The findings we’ve got can only be anecdotal because it’s a double-blind trial, which means at the moment, we don’t know who’s taking the actual drug and who’s taking the placebo,” said Professor Macfarlane, head of clinical services at HammondCare.
Stephen Macfarlane Participants getting side effects, such as dizziness, suggest improvements from the drug, he said.
“The fact that they’re getting side effects and they were expected side effects based on what we know about the drug, does suggest that the people who are showing the improvements are on the active drug,” Professor Macfarlane said.
“For individual patients who have received benefits, the impact for them has been potentially life changing, such as resuming activities they previously had given away, more interest in life, more engagement and better able to converse,” he said.
For example, trial particpant Rosie Craven had lost confidence and enjoyment in many areas of life before she joined phase three of the study.
“Rosie had enjoyed watching movies and reading but as Alzheimer’s advanced, she gave up reading and found it hard to engage with movies, and often falling asleep. Now after being on the trial, Rosie is reading again and loves watching movies and discussing them afterwards.
“She was losing the capacity to write, had been anxious about leaving home for a walk, and stopped using her phone to communicate with friends and family. Now she is once again confidently going for walks, using her phone and writing greetings on cards,” she said.
He did not suggest he had inside information or anything. He told me based on how well the pre-clinical information for Rett translated to the 6 girl trial, that he felt confident that those kinds of results would translate to the PDD trial.