Alzheimer’s drug tested on people without symptoms. Researchers want to find out whether the disease can be prevented

Healthy people aged between 55 and 80 and at high risk of Alzheimer’s will take part in the UK in an international clinical trial testing whether dementia can be prevented before symptoms appear. The first assessments are scheduled for Monday, at the Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS trust.

The phase III study, called PrevenTRON, will include approximately 1,600 participants from around the world. They will be tested for memory problems and may undergo blood tests to identify the p-tau217 biomarker, associated with cognitive decline and the development of Alzheimer’s disease.

Eligible participants will be randomly assigned to receive trontinemab, an experimental drug developed by Roche, or a placebo. The treatment targets amyloid plaques that accumulate in the brain and are associated with the destruction of nerve cells. Preliminary studies have indicated the removal of these plaques in nine out of ten people in the early stages of the disease.

Researchers caution, however, that the drug’s effectiveness has not been demonstrated.

The study will last between four and six years, and participants will be monitored for the emergence of signs of dementia.

Alzheimer’s can begin developing up to ten years before symptoms appear.