Accera, Inc., a biotech company specializing in cognitive health, announced today that it has identified the genetic profile of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) patients who have a high probability of responding to Axona® (AC-1202), a prescription medical food product available at pharmacies nationwide.
In this current study, variances in the DNA sequences associated with the genes responsible for producing insulin degrading enzyme (IDE) and the pro-inflammatory cytokine interleukin-1beta (IL1B) were shown to be highly predictive for improvement in cognition among patients receiving Axona.
Other studies have shown a correlation between an increased risk for AD among carriers of the apolipoprotein E4 allele (APOE4), and Accera has previously published its findings from a double-blind, placebo-controlled study showing that AD patients who were non-carriers of the APOE4 gene (APOE4(-)) experienced significant cognitive improvements in a 90-day trial of AC-1202. This additional analysis has shown that specific genotype combinations of E4(-), IDE and IL1B produced additive improvements in cognitive performance.
Alzheimer's patients who carried combinations of common variants in IDE, APOE and IL1B showed as much as a 7 point increase in cognitive function as measured by the Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale-Cognitive subscale (ADAS-Cog), one of the most widely used scales for anti-dementia drugs in the US. Changes in the ADAS-cog scores of more than 3-4 points are generally recognized as being clinically meaningful. Since the specific variations in the genes for IDE and IL1B are commonly observed in the AD population, the number of patients who are likely to experience a heightened therapeutic benefit from Axona should be significant.