ArticleJournal of Alzheimer's disease reports2021
Potential Virus Involvement in Alzheimer's Disease: Results from a Phase IIa Trial Evaluating Apovir, an Antiviral Drug Combination.
Article in Journal of Alzheimer's disease reports, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
10 citing papers in PubMed, 13 citations in OpenAlex.
- Pathogens Association with Alzheimer Disease: Emerging Concepts and New Perspectives.Current gene therapy · 2026Review
- Transcriptomic analysis of coxsackievirus B3 infection in induced pluripotent stem cell-derived brain-like endothelial cells.Journal of virology · 2025Article
- Shattering the Amyloid Illusion: The Microbial Enigma of Alzheimer's Disease Pathogenesis-From Gut Microbiota and Viruses to Brain Biofilms.Microorganisms · 2025Review
- Underestimated virus impaired cognition-more evidence and more work to do.Frontiers in immunology · 2025Review
- Anti-viral Effects ofEndocrine, metabolic & immune disorders drug targets · 2024Article
- Establishment of a consensus protocol to explore the brain pathobiome in patients with mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease: Research outline and call for collaboration.Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association · 2023Review
- Virus-Like Cytosolic and Cell-Free Oxidatively Damaged Nucleic Acids Likely Drive Inflammation, Synapse Degeneration, and Neuron Death in Alzheimer's Disease.Journal of Alzheimer's disease reports · 2023Review
- Infectious origin of Alzheimer's disease: Amyloid beta as a component of brain antimicrobial immunity.PLoS pathogens · 2022Review
- Picornavirus May Be Linked to Parkinson's Disease through Viral Antigen in Dopamine-Containing Neurons of Substantia Nigra.Microorganisms · 2022Article
- [A new paradigm for the development of neurodegenerative diseases on the example of Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease.]Advances in gerontology = Uspekhi gerontologii · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundAccumulating data suggest infectious agents are involved in Alzheimer's disease (AD). The two primary aims of this trial were to assess safety and efficacy of an antiviral drug combination on AD progression.
objectiveThe trial evaluated whether Apovir, a combination of two antiviral agents, pleconaril (active on enteroviruses) and ribavirin (active on several viruses), could slow AD progression.
methodsSixty-nine patients 60-85 years were treated with Apovir or placebo for 9 months and followed until 12 months after end of treatment. Cognitive tests, safety, biomarkers, drug plasma, and cerebrospinal fluid concentrations were assessed.
resultsThe tolerability of Apovir was compromised as demonstrated by the large drop-out rate and increased frequency and severity of adverse events. The primary endpoint, demonstrating a difference in change from baseline to 9 months between groups in ADAS-cog total score, was not met (
conclusionThis was the first randomized, placebo controlled clinical trial exploring antiviral treatment on AD progression. The trial is considered inconclusive due to the large drop-out rate. New trials are needed to verify if the indications of effect observed can be confirmed and which component(s) in Apovir contributed to such effects. Pleconaril alone may be studied to improve the tolerability and to verify if enterovirus is involved in the disease process.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.