As chief administrative officer of the University of Miami Health System, Rafic Warwar oversees executive functions ranging from community relations to executing business strategy. In this role, Rafic Warwar has responsibility for several of the university’s health organizations, including the Miller School of Medicine.
Neurologists at Miller recently launched a new study to test a drug that may slow down the progression of Alzheimer’s Disease, which affects some 5.7 million throughout the United States. The medication, known as troriluzole, may delay the symptoms of Alzheimer’s and alleviate its degradation of cognitive functions.
The Food and Drug Administration approved troriluzole in 1995 to slow the progression of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gerhig’s disease. It is classified as a “prodrug”: It is inactive until swallowed and digested.
Alzheimer’s patients would have to take it only once a day without having to fast. Troriluzole produces fewer side effects than the immediately active version. The medication regulates the production of glutamate, which can cause problems in the neurons that make mental activity possible.
Researchers are now looking for participants between 50 and 85 who have mild to moderate Alzheimer’s. They must also have been on other Alzheimer’s medications for at least three months. UM is one of more than 30 institutions taking part in a national program, sponsored by Biohaven Pharmaceutical Holding Company and organized through the Alzheimer’s Disease Cooperative Study at the University of California, San Diego.
