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Roper St. Francis in Charleston hosts potentially groundbreaking Alzheimer's study


(WCIV)
(WCIV)
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The T2 Study to treat Alzheimer's, dementia, and memory loss is now open to Lowcountry patients. Roper St. Francis is one hospital participating in nationwide study that could potentially produce groundbreaking results.

Participants will take a pill, triulozole, that’s shown in early trials to stop or slow Alzheimer’s symptoms for patients. Dr. Jacobo Mintzer says doctors have learned a lot about treating the disease in the last five years.

“Today we can see the actual lesion of Alzheimer's disease in people’s brain, 10 to 15 years before the first symptoms appears.”

Dr. Mintzer says stimulating the immune system to heal brain lesions caused by Alzheimer's could fully prevent the onset of symptoms in patients diagnosed early enough. Studies hoping to confirm the hypothesis are happening right now.

Dr. Mintzer says triulozole is, “a compound that eliminates the inflammatory process that the disease causes in the brain.” He says the drug may be able to treat mild to moderate Alzheimer's, “by eliminating the inflammation, we’re healing the cell.”

South Carolina has the 8th highest rate for Alzheimer's related deaths in the nation, according to the 2018 National Alzheimer’s Associations Facts and Figures Report. It says roughly 92,000 people are living with the disease in the Palmetto state.

Dr. Mintzer says the high prevalence of the disease in the Lowcountry is partially explained by the growing retiree population, and the large African-American population.

“As they age, the prevalence of Alzheimer's increases. Also, we have a large population of African-Americans. Compared to Caucasians, the African-American community has double the prevalence of Alzheimer's disease."

He’s revealing new research on 'Music as Medicine for the Brain' in a TEDx Talk at the Charleston Music Hall on April 10th.

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