Preventive Effect of Rifampicin on Alzheimer Disease Needs at Least 450 mg Daily for 1 Year: An FDG-PET Follow-Up Study.

Abstract

BACKGROUND:

Rifampicin was reported to inhibit amyloid-β oligomerization and tau hyperphosphorylation in mouse models and could serve as a promising available medicine for the prevention of Alzheimer disease (AD). To examine whether rifampicin has such preventive effects in humans, we retrospectively reviewed 18F-FDG-PET findings of elderly patients with mycobacterium infection treated with rifampicin.

METHODS:

Forty nondemented elderly patients treated with rifampicin for mycobacterium infections who showed AD-type hypometabolism were enrolled. The hypometabolic patterns were evaluated with stereotaxic statistical analysis and region of interest analysis.

RESULTS:

Before treatment, AD-type hypometa bolism was observed in 12 patients. The FDG uptake in the posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) was improved or stabilized in 6 patients after 12-month therapy (450 mg/day), whereas another 6 patients with 6-month therapy showed a decreased FDG uptake in the PCC. In patients who underwent FDG-PET only after treatment, the metabolic decline in the PCC was significantly milder in patients with ≥12 months of rifampicin treatment than in those with 6 months of treatment. Multiple regression analysis revealed that the dose of rifampicin and treatment duration significantly influenced FDG uptake in the PCC.

CONCLUSION:

The preventive effect of rifampicin depended on the dose and the treatment duration, and the effect needs at least 450 mg daily for 1 year.

• Authors: Tomomichi Iizuka, Kozo Morimoto, Yuka Sasaki, Masashi Kameyama, Atsuyuki Kurashima, Kazumasa Hayasaka, Hideo Ogata, Hajime Goto
• Journal: Dementia and geriatric cognitive disorders extra (Dement Geriatr Cogn Dis Extra) 2017 May-Aug Vol. 7 Issue 2 Pg. 204-214 ISSN: 1664-5464 [Print] Switzerland
• PMID: 28690634 (Publication Type: Journal Article)