Amyloid Plaque News and Research

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FDA approves scan to detect Alzheimer’s disease early

The test uses a chemical called florbetapir, known by the brand name Amyvid, which is a radioactive agent that tags clumps of a sticky substance called an amyloid. Amyloid proteins are hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease. The chemical, which costs $1,600 per dose, then is detected using a brain imaging technique called positron emission tomography, known as PET scans. For patients who already have some symptoms of cognitive decline, a positive scan suggests that moderate to frequent amyloid plaques are present in the brain, which is consistent with Alzheimer's disease.

9 Apr 2012

Lilly, Avid receive FDA approval for Amyvid to treat Alzheimer's

Eli Lilly and Company and Avid Radiopharmaceuticals, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Lilly, today announced the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of Amyvid, a radioactive diagnostic agent indicated for brain imaging of beta-amyloid plaques in patients with cognitive impairment who are being evaluated for Alzheimer's Disease and other causes of cognitive decline.

7 Apr 2012

Researchers validate CatB protease as target for Alzheimer's

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego, the Medical University of South Carolina, the University of Cincinnati, and American Life Science Pharmaceuticals of San Diego have validated the protease cathepsin B (CatB) as a target for improving memory deficits and reducing the pathology of Alzheimer's disease (AD) in an animal model representative of most AD patients.

8 Mar 2012

Cedars-Sinai scientist to study potential treatments for AD

A Cedars-Sinai research scientist has been awarded two national grants totaling more than $2.5 million, including a prestigious Research Project Grant from the National Institutes of Health to study potential treatments for Alzheimer's disease.

21 Feb 2012

Disrupted sleep may raise risk of Alzheimer’s disease

According to a new study, which will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology's 64th Annual Meeting in New Orleans, April 21st to April 28th, the amount of sleep people get may later affect their memory's function and the risk of Alzheimer's.

15 Feb 2012

Disrupted sleep may lead to build-up of amyloid plaques

The amount and quality of sleep you get at night may affect your memory later in life, according to research that was released today and will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology's 64th Annual Meeting in New Orleans April 21 to April 28, 2012.

15 Feb 2012

Curcumin prolongs life and enhances activity of fruit flies with AD

Curcumin, a substance extracted from turmeric, prolongs life and enhances activity of fruit flies with a nervous disorder similar to Alzheimers. The study conducted at Link-ping University, indicates that it is the initial stages of fibril formation and fragments of the amyloid fibrils that are most toxic to neurons.

15 Feb 2012

Cancer drug bexarotene effective in mouse model of Alzheimer’s

Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine neuroscientist Gary Landreth and colleagues reported Thursday that the drug - bexarotene quickly cleared away beta-amyloid plaque, believed to cause the cognitive deficits of Alzheimer's disease, from the brains of genetically engineered mice.

12 Feb 2012

Breakthroughs in Alzheimer’s disease research

Researchers are closer to understanding Alzheimer’s disease using a new stem cell technique. They have successfully replicated Alzheimer’s disease neurons with stem cells for the first time.

26 Jan 2012

Alzheimer’s disease may be kept at bay with regular brain stimulation: Study

A new study shows that regularly doing puzzles and reading books could be linked to a decreased risk of Alzheimer's disease. It says that these activities reduce the accumulation of harmful proteins in the brain.

24 Jan 2012

Banner Alzheimer's Institute presents results from Navidea AZD4694 study at 6th Annual HAI

Navidea Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced that the Banner Alzheimer's Institute, Phoenix, AZ, made two presentations of results from an AstraZeneca-sponsored study on the assessment of Navidea's late-stage radiopharmaceutical imaging candidate, AZD4694, at the 6th Annual Human Amyloid Imaging Meeting (HAI), in Miami, FL.

20 Jan 2012

Vitamin D could prevent age related eye degeneration: Study

A new study showed that increased vitamin D intake can help to prevent age-related diseases, in particular loss of vision and blindness.

18 Jan 2012

Early Alzheimer’s detection - cost effective and easy

Boston researchers have reported a new method for detecting subtle brain changes in people who have no memory problems but who may already be in the earliest stages of Alzheimer’s disease.

27 Dec 2011

Researchers apply new approach to take a close look at amyloid plaque formation

Researchers at the University of Toronto Scarborough (UTSC) and Osaka University applied a new approach to take a close look at amyloid plaque formation, a process that plays important roles in Alzheimer's disease.

4 Oct 2011

Anavex presents data on neuroprotective evidence for lead compound for Alzheimer’s

Anavex Life Sciences Corp. is pleased to provide a summary of its second poster presentation at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference (AAIC) held in Paris, entitled “Preclinical development of new tetrahydrofuran derivatives targeting the sigma-1 chaperone protein as neuroprotectants in Alzheimer’s disease.”

26 Jul 2011

Falling may be an early sign of Alzheimer's

In a new study presented at the Alzheimer's Association's annual International Conference in Paris it was reported that older people whose brain scans showed signs of amyloid plaques - an early indicator of Alzheimer's disease - but who were otherwise healthy, had twice the risk of falls as people without brain amyloid.

20 Jul 2011

Higher rates of falls can occur very early in Alzheimer's disease

Falls are more common among individuals with the earliest signs of Alzheimer's, according to a study presented at the Alzheimer's Association® International Conference 2011.

18 Jul 2011

EnVivo initiates EVP-0962 GSM Phase 1 clinical trial for Alzheimer’s disease

EnVivo Pharmaceuticals, a company dedicated to developing a broad range of novel central nervous system (CNS) therapies, announced today that it recently initiated a Phase 1 clinical trial of EVP-0962, its potent and selective gamma secretase modulator (GSM), in healthy volunteers.

27 Jun 2011

E64d reduces Aβ levels and improves memory function in brains of Alzheimer's disease mice

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego, the Medical University of South Carolina and American Life Science Pharmaceuticals of San Diego have demonstrated that oral administration of a cysteine protease inhibitor, E64d, not only reduces the build-up of β-amyloid in the brains of animal models for Alzheimer's disease, but also results in a substantial improvement in memory deficit.

1 Jun 2011

Busy brain cells can both contribute to and prevent Alzheimer's

Higher levels of cell chatter boost amyloid beta in the brain regions that Alzheimer's hits first, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis report. Amyloid beta is the main ingredient of the plaque lesions that are a hallmark of Alzheimer's.

3 May 2011