Researchers at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in New Brunswick are enrolling participants in the National Alzheimer’s Disease Cooperative Study, which seeks to determine whether benfotiamine, a synthetic form of thiamine (vitamin B1), can help slow cognitive decline in people with mild cognitive impairment and early Alzheimer’s disease.
Rutgers is one of about 40 sites in the United States and the only site in New Jersey. This 18-month, Phase 2 clinical trial will evaluate whether benfotiamine, an oral, easily absorbed form of thiamine, can improve cognitive function and help preserve or potentially improvement participants ability to carry out daily routine activities. The study, which is being conducted at the Clinical Research Center at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, is facilitated by the Jacqueline Krieger Klein Alzheimer’s Research Center at Rutgers Brain Health Institute.
“Over 7 million people in the U.S. are living with Alzheimer’s disease and an estimated 200,000 Americans ages 30 to 64 have younger-onset dementia, which underscores the need for new treatment options for people living with this progressive disease,” said Fred Kobylarz, a professor at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in the Parker Health Group Division of Geriatrics and principle investigator of the study, citing figures from the Alzheimer’s Association. To read the full story.