If you feel as you have control over your life, your brain chemistry actually improves. Hope Through Research Research, especially using animal models of the disease, provides tremendous hope for patients. The effects of estrogen hormones, anti-inflammatory agents, vitamin E, and other common medications are under intense study at this time. Experimental treatments are currently being tested in multicenter clinical drug trials. One of the most promising is neurotransmitter research, or replacing the cells that produce neurotransmitters in the brain that have been destroyed by the disease.
Neurotransmitters are chemicals that carry messages between brain cells.
Participation in clinical trials can be highly rewarding because of the frequent contact with and support from health care providers. However, they usually require that a portion of the patients receive placebo rather than active medication. Most state Alzheimer's centers, federally funded Alzheimer's centers and many physicians specializing in Alzheimer's disease participate in these trials. Please contact the AAN Education and Research Foundation to contribute to the fight against Alzheimer's disease and other neurological disorders. Only through continued research can we hope for more treatments and a cure.