Alzheimer's Disease News and Research

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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.

New review outlines Bionovo's platform of estrogen receptor modulators for menopausal conditions

Bionovo, Inc. today announced the publication of a review of results from studies discussing new classes of estrogen receptor modulating drugs with distinct mechanism for pharmacological effect. The review is published in the most recent edition of Current Opinion in Pharmacology.

22 Oct 2010

Stanford Hospital opens Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging Clinic

The Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging Clinic opening this month at Stanford Hospital will help advance a new generation of diagnostic techniques for earlier detection and improved management of cancer, heart disease and neurological disorders.

22 Oct 2010

Australian stem cell line offers fresh approach to diabetes cure

Australian researchers have developed the country’s first diabetes specific stem cell line, a major advance for patients suffering from the chronic disease.

21 Oct 2010

Researcher identifies two risk markers for Alzheimer's disease

Risk markers could play an important role in this. These are substances linked to Alzheimer's that are found in unusually high or unusually low quantities in patients who go on to develop the disease.

21 Oct 2010

Study investigates efficacy of blood analysis with cognitive testing for early diagnosis of AD

One key problem with treating people with Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the fact that it is often very difficult to detect the disease when it is in the early stages of progression. A team of researchers from the University of the West of England are about to embark on a preliminary study to investigate the efficacy of combining biomarkers in blood with cognitive testing as a way of screening for AD early on so that appropriate treatments can be offered to patients sooner.

21 Oct 2010

Metabolon receives patent for biomarkers to determine PPAR-affecting drugs

Metabolon, Inc., leaders in global metabolomics, biomarker discovery and biochemical analysis, announced today the grant of US Patent 7,807,138 entitled "Biomarkers of Metabolic Responses to Hepatic Drugs". The USPTO awarded the patent to Metabolon on October 5, 2010. This is the 13th patent issued to Metabolon and the second in its portfolio of biomarker patents.

21 Oct 2010

Abbott third quarter worldwide sales increase 11.8% to $8.7 billion

Abbott today announced financial results for the third quarter ended Sept. 30, 2010.

20 Oct 2010

New book on Alzheimer's epidemic

Providing meaningful roles in society, involving children, and embracing a love-based approach are how America can successfully cope with the soaring numbers of people with Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and other memory-impairing diseases. That's the view of Alzheimer's futurists Loren Shook and Steve Winner, who say the nation must elevate care for those with the disease alongside the ongoing efforts to develop prevention and cure measures.

20 Oct 2010

New brush optrode improves optical scanning of brain activity

One of the main techniques for measuring and monitoring mental activity, called functional near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS), can often be impaired because a person's hair gets in the way. But now, thanks to a team of researchers at the University of Texas at Dallas and the University of Texas at Arlington, a novel device called a "brush optrode" is providing increased sensitivity with fiber tips designed to thread through hair to enhance scalp contact.

20 Oct 2010

PBS-Bio announces three new contracts to develop cancer therapy

In an industry that faces increasing challenges in delivering new drugs to patients, Predictive Biomarker Sciences (PBS-Bio) today announced three new contracts aimed at bringing new medicines to the marketplace.

20 Oct 2010

Neuralstem updates Phase I human clinical trial of spinal cord stem cells for ALS

Neuralstem, Inc. updated the progress of its ongoing Phase I human clinical trial of the company's spinal cord stem cells in the treatment of ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig's disease) at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia.

20 Oct 2010

Turmeric component enhances chemotherapy's suppression of head and neck cancer

Curcumin, the major component in the spice turmeric, when combined with the drug Cisplatin enhances the chemotherapy's suppression of head and neck cancer cell growth, researchers with UCLA's Jonsson Cancer Center have found.

20 Oct 2010

Ceregene commences enrollment in CERE-120 Phase 2b study for Parkinson's disease

Ceregene, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, announced today that enrollment has begun in a new double-blind sham surgery-controlled Phase 2b study evaluating CERE-120 in Parkinson's disease patients. CERE-120 is a gene therapy product that delivers the neurotrophic factor neurturin to degenerating or dying dopamine neurons. Data from the first Phase 2 clinical trial of CERE-120 are being published later this year in Lancet Neurology (to appear online October 21, 2010).

20 Oct 2010

Forest Laboratories second quarter net sales increase 7.7% to $1,037.3 million

Forest Laboratories, Inc., an international pharmaceutical manufacturer and marketer, announced that diluted earnings per share equaled $1.00 in the second quarter of fiscal 2011.

19 Oct 2010

Maria Shriver, Ann O’Leary introduce The Shriver Report for Alzheimer's patients

Guests Maria Shriver (First Lady-California) and Ann O'Leary (Berkeley Center for Health, Economic and Family Security) appeared yesterday to introduce The Shriver Report: A Woman's Nation takes on Alzheimer's on the ABC Sunday morning show This Week with Christiane Amanpour

19 Oct 2010

DOD awards grant to develop ‘lab-on-a-chip’ device for monitoring patients with severe brain injury

The US Department of Defense (DOD) has awarded a $5 million grant to The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research and the University of Cincinnati to further develop a "lab-on-a-chip" device used for monitoring patients suffering from severe brain injury.

19 Oct 2010

New ADNI-GO effort enables researchers to study Alzheimer's disease

Volunteers in New York, NY are being sought for a clinical study examining the subtle changes that may take place in the brains of older people many years before overt symptoms of Alzheimer's disease (AD) appear. Researchers at Columbia University Medical Center are specifically looking for people with the very earliest complaints of memory problems that affect their daily activities. The study will follow participants over time, using imaging techniques specifically developed to advance research into changes taking place in the structure and function of the living brain, as well as biomarker measures found in blood and cerebrospinal fluid.

19 Oct 2010

Study suggests epoD; microtubule-stabilizing drugs may treat neurodegenerative diseases

Finding a drug that can cross the blood-brain barrier is the bane of drug development for Alzheimer's disease and other neurological disorders of the brain. A new Penn study, published this week in the Journal of Neuroscience, has found and tested in an animal model of Alzheimer's disease a class of drug that is able to enter the brain, where it stabilizes degenerating neurons and improves memory and learning.

19 Oct 2010

biOasis receives final report on Collaborative Research project from UBC

biOasis Technologies Inc. has received a final report detailing results achieved within the Collaborative Research project with The University of British Columbia (UBC) that was announced by the Company on June 2, 2009.

19 Oct 2010

Vitamin B12 may help protect against Alzheimer's disease

A new study shows that vitamin B12 may protect against Alzheimer's disease, adding more evidence to the scientific debate about whether the vitamin is effective in reducing the risk of memory loss. The research will be published in the October 19, 2010, issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

19 Oct 2010