Alzheimer's Disease News and Research

RSS

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is an irreversible, progressive brain disease that slowly destroys memory and thinking skills and, eventually, the ability to carry out the simplest tasks of daily living. In most people with AD, symptoms first appear after age 60. AD is the most common cause of dementia among older people, but it is not a normal part of aging. Dementia refers to a decline in cognitive function that interferes with daily life and activities. AD starts in a region of the brain that affects recent memory, then gradually spreads to other parts of the brain. Although treatment can slow the progression of AD and help manage its symptoms in some people, currently there is no cure for this devastating disease.

Potential therapy to enhance memory and prevent loss of long-term memory

Researchers from Mount Sinai School of Medicine have identified a therapy that may enhance memory and prevent the loss of long-term memory. The research is published in the January 27th issue of Nature.

27 Jan 2011

Viewpoints: Trying to regulate insurance premium rates, fighting Medicare fraud

Big, powerful industries facing tougher government oversight — the health insurance industry, say — know that the legislative battle in Congress or state capitals is just the first skirmish. The more important fight is over the regulations that implement legislative policies (Michael Hiltzik, 1/25).

26 Jan 2011

Ligand announces acquisition of CyDex Pharmaceuticals

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated today announced it has acquired privately held CyDex Pharmaceuticals, for a combination of cash and contingent payments.

26 Jan 2011

Researchers discover new treatment for difficult-to-control high blood pressure

Researchers were surprised to discover what may be a potential new treatment for difficult-to-control high blood pressure, according to a case report published in the January 25, 2011, print issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

25 Jan 2011

p38-targeted compounds hold promise for Alzheimer's disease treatment

Linda J. Van Eldik, director of the University of Kentucky Sanders-Brown Center on Aging, has been awarded a $750,000 grant to further her research into a possible treatment for Alzheimer's disease. The grant is from the Edward N. And Della L. Thome Memorial Foundation, and was one of only eight Awards in Alzheimer's Disease Drug Discovery Research to be given in the U.S. in 2010.

25 Jan 2011

SNM commends FDA Advisory Committee recommendation for florbetapir approval

The Society of Nuclear Medicine (SNM) commends the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) Peripheral and Central Nervous System Drugs Advisory Committee on its recent recommendation for conditional approval of a new imaging agent, florbetapir.

25 Jan 2011

Nutrient 'biomarkers' may help assess nutrient status of elderly people at risk for dementia

Research is trying to determine whether Alzheimer's disease might be slowed or prevented with nutritional approaches, but a new study suggests those efforts could be improved by use of nutrient "biomarkers" to objectively assess the nutrient status of elderly people at risk for dementia.

24 Jan 2011

PenTAG research plays pivotal role in NICE decision to extend availability of Alzheimer's disease drugs

A review of research evidence produced by researchers from the Peninsula Technology Assessment Group, part of the Peninsula College of Medicine and Dentistry, has played a pivotal role in the decision by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) to extend the availability of donepezil, galantamine, rivastigmine and memantine for Alzheimer's disease announced on 18th January 2011.

21 Jan 2011

Math may help assess how rapidly stem cells and cancer-causing cousins increase numbers

The difficult task of sorting and counting prized stem cells and their cancer-causing cousins has long frustrated scientists looking for new ways to help people who have progressive diseases.

21 Jan 2011

NGOs, IAOMT urge to ban mercury-containing products, including dental amalgam

Mercury, the main ingredient in "silver" or amalgam fillings, will be the subject of a United Nations conference to be held in Chiba, Japan on January 24-28. Members of various non-governmental organizations, as well as dentists and scientists from groups such as the International Academy of Oral Medicine and Toxicology, will be attending and urging a ban on products containing mercury, including dental amalgam.

21 Jan 2011

Repligen enters exclusive license agreement with UCI for use of HDAC3 inhibitors for memory disorders

Repligen Corporation announced today that it has entered into an exclusive license agreement with the University of California, Irvine (UCI) for a patent application covering the use of histone deacetylase 3 (HDAC3) inhibitors for the treatment of disorders involving preservation or extinction of memory including Alzheimer's disease, memory impairment and post traumatic stress disorder.

21 Jan 2011

Cognition Therapeutics closes $2.5 million Series A1 financing

Cognition Therapeutics Inc., a drug discovery company developing novel, small molecule disease-modifying treatments for Alzheimer's, has closed on a $2.5 million Series A1 financing it will use to bring one or more of its compounds to Investigational New Drug (IND) candidate status. The round was led by Golden Seeds, one of the nation's largest angel investing groups, and was syndicated with Tech Coast Angels.

20 Jan 2011

Scientists discover fundamental mechanism behind toxic protein aggregation in neurodegenerative diseases

Protein aggregation underlies several neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's, Huntington's chorea or Parkinson's. Scientists at the Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry (MPIB) in Martinsried near Munich, Germany, now discovered a fundamental mechanism which explains how toxic protein aggregation occurs and why it leads to a widespread impairment of essential cellular functions.

20 Jan 2011

Brains of migraine sufferers show higher proportion of lesions of brain microvessels

Recent work, in particular the CAMERA study, has used MRI to study the brains of migraine sufferers and has shown that a higher proportion of these patients exhibit lesions of the brain microvessels than the rest of the population.

20 Jan 2011

Delaying onset of Alzheimer's disease by 10 years could potentially eliminate the disease completely

The combined results of a genetic blood test and a five-minute functional MRI successfully classified more than three-quarters of healthy older adults, many of whom were destined to develop cognitive decline within 18 months of testing.

20 Jan 2011

New research: HIV individuals are more likely to have stroke

New research suggests that people infected with human immunodeficiency virus may be up to three times more likely to have a stroke compared to those not affected with HIV. The study is published in the January 19, 2011, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

20 Jan 2011

Positive top-line results from TC-5619 Phase 2 trial in patients with schizophrenia

Targacept, Inc. today announced positive top-line results from a Phase 2 clinical proof of concept trial to assess TC-5619 as an augmentation therapy to improve cognition in patients with schizophrenia.

20 Jan 2011

Salk Institute uncovers presenilin's productive side

Mutant presenilin is infamous for its role in the most aggressive form of Alzheimer's disease-early-onset familial Alzheimer's-which can strike people as early as their 30s. In their latest study, researchers at the Salk Institute uncovered presenilin's productive side: It helps embryonic motor neurons navigate the maze of chemical cues that pull, push and hem them in on their way to their proper targets.

19 Jan 2011

Lower levels in plasma of biomarkers beta-amyloid 42/40 increase rate of cognitive decline

Older adults without dementia and with lower levels in plasma of the biomarkers beta-amyloid 42/40 (protein fragments) had an increased rate of cognitive decline over a period of 9 years, according to a study in the January 19 issue of JAMA. The researchers also found that this relationship was stronger among individuals with less education and lower levels of literacy.

19 Jan 2011

Molecular imaging procedure may detect beta-amyloid in brain, increase accuracy of AD diagnosis

Preliminary research suggests that use of a type of molecular imaging procedure may have the ability to detect the presence of beta-amyloid in the brains of individuals during life, a biomarker that is identified during autopsy to confirm a diagnosis of Alzheimer disease, according to a study in the January 19 issue of JAMA.

19 Jan 2011

Alzheimer's Disease News and Research

Further Reading

Potential therapy to enhance memory and prevent loss of long-term memory

Viewpoints: Trying to regulate insurance premium rates, fighting Medicare fraud

Ligand announces acquisition of CyDex Pharmaceuticals

Researchers discover new treatment for difficult-to-control high blood pressure

p38-targeted compounds hold promise for Alzheimer's disease treatment

SNM commends FDA Advisory Committee recommendation for florbetapir approval

Nutrient 'biomarkers' may help assess nutrient status of elderly people at risk for dementia

PenTAG research plays pivotal role in NICE decision to extend availability of Alzheimer's disease drugs

Math may help assess how rapidly stem cells and cancer-causing cousins increase numbers

NGOs, IAOMT urge to ban mercury-containing products, including dental amalgam

Repligen enters exclusive license agreement with UCI for use of HDAC3 inhibitors for memory disorders

Cognition Therapeutics closes $2.5 million Series A1 financing

Scientists discover fundamental mechanism behind toxic protein aggregation in neurodegenerative diseases

Brains of migraine sufferers show higher proportion of lesions of brain microvessels

Delaying onset of Alzheimer's disease by 10 years could potentially eliminate the disease completely

New research: HIV individuals are more likely to have stroke

Positive top-line results from TC-5619 Phase 2 trial in patients with schizophrenia

Salk Institute uncovers presenilin's productive side

Lower levels in plasma of biomarkers beta-amyloid 42/40 increase rate of cognitive decline

Molecular imaging procedure may detect beta-amyloid in brain, increase accuracy of AD diagnosis

Aneuro: A Year of Neuroscience in Review eBook

Achieving and maintaining ISO/IEC 27001 and BS 10012 certifications

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

Examining how pain could play a direct protective role in the gut

Latest News