Research suggests that in some forms of Alzheimer's disease, brain cells lose the ability to use glucose for energy. In promising research, a milkshake-like drug loaded with fatty acids provided an alternative food source for hungry neurons.

Researchers conducted a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study involving 152 people with Alzheimer's disease at 25 centers across the United States. The researchers found that many of those who drank a drug concoction called Ketasyn enjoyed small but noticeable improvements in mental function. (The patients continued taking their regular medications for Alzheimer's disease, such as acetylcholinesterase inhibitors, as prescribed.) The greatest improvement was found in patients without the ApoE4 genotype, a genetic risk factor for Alzheimer's disease.

Ketasyn is one of four drugs on the verge of large-scale testing as treatments for Alzheimer's disease. Researchers reported their findings at an international meeting of Alzheimer's disease researchers in Washington, D.C., in June. For more information about Ketasyn, visit http://www.accerapharma.com/21/news.html.