(July 18, 2008 - Insidermedicine) A drug called Dimebon, once marketed as an antihistamine in Russia, is showing promise for the treatment of mild-to-moderate symptoms of Alzheimer's disease, according to research published in this week's Dementia Special Edition of The Lancet.

Here are some key warning signs of Alzheimer's disease:

•    Memory loss that affects day-to-day functioning, such as regularly forgetting appointments, friend's phone numbers, or colleagues' names.

•    Difficulty performing familiar tasks, such as preparing meals or getting dressed.

•    Problems remembering every day words or substituting one word for another, making comments sometimes difficult to understand.

Researchers out of Baylor College of Medicine in Houston randomly assigned nearly 200 patients with mild-to-moderate Alzheimer's disease to receive treatment with Dimebon or a placebo. After six months of treatment, the participants had the option to continue treatment for another six months.

Among the 120 patients who completed one year of treatment, those on Dimebon had significantly better scores on a measure of everyday intellectual functioning than those on placebo. In addition, while scores on this measure improved during the study period for those on Dimebon, they actually worsened among those on placebo. Dry mouth and depression were the side effects most commonly linked with the drug.

We had a chance to speak with Dr. Rachelle Doody, one of the primary investigators of this study, who offered some further insight.

Today's research suggests that a new drug for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease may be on the horizon. While other drug treatments are available for this condition, this is the first one to offer increasing benefits over a year's time.

For Insidermedicine in Depth, I'm Dr. Susan Sharma.