Russian antihistamine appears effective against Alzheimer's

NEW YORK A study that lasted a year and a half has found that an antihistamine developed in the former Soviet Union may be able to stabilize Alzheimer’s disease.

The study, presented at the International Conference on Alzheimer’s Disease, found that the drug Dimebon could stabilize the disease for at least the time of the study. Researchers tested the drug against a placebo in 183 patients in Russia who had mild to moderate Alzheimer’s.

Conditions of patients who received the placebo deteriorated, while those of the people who received Dimebon improved or deteriorated only slightly.