Drug developed to treat rare form of dementia in younger people

Words: Rhiannon Down Producer: Louise Starkey

Australian scientists have developed a breakthrough drug to combat a form of dementia that causes horrifying cognitive damage and personality changes in people aged in their 60s and under.

The drug, sodium selenate, has been shown to put the brakes on cognitive decline and neuro­degenerative damage in patients who suffer from behavioural variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD).

This was found in Phase 1 trials led by Monash University researchers. BvFTD is the second most common type of dementia in people aged under 60 and affects about 50,000 Australians.

The typical survival of the disease, which can occur in people as young as 35 years old, is five to seven years after diagnosis.

They tend to experience these bizarre types of behavioural change and become impulsive, rude in social situations and laugh inappropriately and tell terrible jokes... It can lead to people getting divorced and can be really disruptive because of these weird symptoms.

Dr Lucy Vivash Monash department of neuroscience researcher “ “ Picture: Monash University

Sodium selenate works by reversing the damage to the neurons in the brain which is caused by the build-up of a protein called tau. It activates enzymes that disperse the build-up of the protein in the brain.

Despite the promising results, the drug is about seven years away from being fully approved. Dr Vivash is actively recruiting for 100 patients for Phase 2 trials.

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