Ambroxol as a Novel Disease Modifying Treatment for Lewy Body Dementia

Summary

This is a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind study investigating whether the medication Ambroxol is safe,effectiveness and well tolerated for the treatment of Lewy Body Dementia (LBD). Currently the main treatments for patients with LBD target symptom management. However, none of the medications treat the underlying cause of the disease, which includes the accumulation of protein in the brain. Therefore, even if patients respond well to symptomatic treatment, they continue to deteriorate. Therefore, the purpose of the current study is to make sure Ambroxol is safe to take long term and to test the effects of Ambroxol in treating the cognitive impairments associated with LBD by modifying the underlying causes of the disease. There will be a total of 15 people participating this this study, which will last 52 weeks. Over the study period patients will undergo clinical, neuropsychological and neuroimaging assessment to assess changes.

Timeline

Start

2025-01

Primary completion

2026-01

Completion

2027-01

Publications

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• Background Nalls MA, Duran R, Lopez G, Kurzawa-Akanbi M, McKeith IG, Chinnery PF, Morris CM, Theuns J, Crosiers D, Cras P, Engelborghs S, De Deyn PP, Van Broeckhoven C, Mann DM, Snowden J, Pickering-Brown S, Halliwell N, Davidson Y, Gibbons L, Harris J, Sheerin UM, Bras J, Hardy J, Clark L, Marder K, Honig LS, Berg D, Maetzler W, Brockmann K, Gasser T, Novellino F, Quattrone A, Annesi G, De Marco EV, Rogaeva E, Masellis M, Black SE, Bilbao JM, Foroud T, Ghetti B, Nichols WC, Pankratz N, Halliday G, Lesage S, Klebe S, Durr A, Duyckaerts C, Brice A, Giasson BI, Trojanowski JQ, Hurtig HI, Tayebi N, Landazabal C, Knight MA, Keller M, Singleton AB, Wolfsberg TG, Sidransky E. A multicenter study of glucocerebrosidase mutations in dementia with Lewy bodies. JAMA Neurol. 2013 Jun;70(6):727-35. doi: 10.1001/jamaneurol.2013.1925.
• Background Narita A, Shirai K, Itamura S, Matsuda A, Ishihara A, Matsushita K, Fukuda C, Kubota N, Takayama R, Shigematsu H, Hayashi A, Kumada T, Yuge K, Watanabe Y, Kosugi S, Nishida H, Kimura Y, Endo Y, Higaki K, Nanba E, Nishimura Y, Tamasaki A, Togawa M, Saito Y, Maegaki Y, Ohno K, Suzuki Y. Ambroxol chaperone therapy for neuronopathic Gaucher disease: A pilot study. Ann Clin Transl Neurol. 2016 Feb 2;3(3):200-15. doi: 10.1002/acn3.292. eCollection 2016 Mar.
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• Background Low, P., & Benarroch, E. (2008). Clinical Autonomic Disorders. (P. Low & E. Benarroch, Eds.) (Third). Philadelphia: Wolters Kluwer Health/Lippincott Williams & Wilkins
• Background Narita, A., Zhou, L., Higaki, K., Togawa, M., Maegaki, Y., Nanba, E., … Ohno, K. (2012). Chemical chaperone therapy for neuropathic Gaucher disease. In 12th International Child Neurology Congress and the 11th Asian and Oceanian Congress of Child Neurology Brisbane (pp. 50-5)

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