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An annual review of clinical trials for Alzheimer's disease highlights a growing number of active trials—and drugs—in the development pipeline and offers optimism for the global effort to find a cure.

There are more potential new medicines being tested for Alzheimer’s disease, according to an annual review published today. It reports that 138 drugs are currently being tested – an increase of nearly 9% from last year. This is great news, because the more drugs that scientists test, the greater the chance that new and effective medicines will soon become a reality for people living with dementia.

Of all the medical challenges that scientists have faced, Alzheimer’s disease, the most common form of dementia, has been one of the trickiest. Between 1995 and 2021 private money spent on Alzheimer’s research totalled $42.5bn, but more than 140 trials failed to deliver a single drug capable of slowing the disease. Yet the tide may be turning. There are two working drugs, offering modest benefits, on the market. A new review paper suggests more could soon follow.

The human mind fascinated Dr. Jeffrey Cummings long before he became an international authority on Alzheimer’s disease.

A 51³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ professor is being honored for his lifetime contributions in the areas of dementia and drug development. Dr. Jeff L. Cummings is a research professor at the Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine at 51³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ.

ScholarGPS said Dr. Jeffrey L. Cummings received the title for his lifetime contributions in the areas of dementia and drug development.

BACE1, aka β-secretase, is infamous for its fateful snip of amyloid precursor protein that leads to the production of Aβ peptides. Yet this might not be the only way BACE1 eggs on Alzheimer’s pathogenesis. According to a study published February 26 in Neuron, the enzyme also cleaves protein subunits off GABAAR, a receptor that transmits inhibitory currents responsible for reining in neuronal activity.

Doctor Jeffrey Cummings is world-renowned in the field of Alzheimer’s research and he leads 51³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ’s Center for Transformative Neuroscience. He and six other scientists published research Wednesday that looked at the potential existing drugs have for the research and treatment of Alzheimer’s, for example, drugs like rasagiline for Parkinson’s or bexarotene for cancer. It’s called repurposing.

Axsome’s expectation that AXS-05 can win market share from Rexulti is partly built on the belief that the drug candidate has a differentiated safety profile. Rexulti has a boxed warning because of an increased risk of death. There were no deaths in the AXS-05 trials. Jeffrey Cummings, a research professor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, discussed what may happen if AXS-05 avoids a boxed warning.

Axsome Therapeutics said on Monday it would seek marketing approval next year for its oral drug to treat agitation in patients with Alzheimer’s disease, after it succeeded in three out of four late-stage studies.

Today, Axsome will host a conference call and webcast to discuss these topline results. Dr. Jeffrey Cummings, Vice Chair of Research at 51³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ Department of Brain Health, will join the call and be available for questions.

Cleveland Clinic Genome Center researchers have unraveled how microglia, which perform key neuroprotective activities, also can transform and drive harmful processes such as inflammation in Alzheimer’s disease.