Alzheimer's & Dementia News and Research

Latest Alzheimer's & Dementia News and Research

People with higher Leptin levels have significantly reduced incidence of AD and dementia

This week’s issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (Dec 16) features a report on a long-term, prospective study of elderly, dementia-free individuals led by researchers from Boston University School of Medicine and the Framingham Heart Study focusing on the association between the protein hormone Leptin and the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease (AD).

17 Dec 2009

Communication strategies can benefit dementia patients and caregivers

Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia represent an exponentially growing social and health care challenge for American families - not only family members who face the progressive brain disease, but also those who love them.

17 Dec 2009

High methionine diet may increase risk of dementia

A diet rich in methionine, an amino acid typically found in red meats, fish, beans, eggs, garlic, lentils, onions, yogurt and seeds, can possibly increase the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease, according to a study by Temple researchers.

17 Dec 2009

Nanotherapeutics acquires Ramoplanin clinical program from Oscient Pharmaceuticals

Nanotherapeutics, Inc., a privately held biopharmaceutical company, announced that it has acquired in bankruptcy proceedings two late stage clinical programs: Ramoplanin from Oscient Pharmaceuticals Corporation and PRX-3140 from EPIX Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

16 Dec 2009

Reprints Desk signs distribution deals with seven STM journal publishers

Derycz Scientific, Inc., a company that is pioneering a fresh way of facilitating the flow of information from content publishers to enterprise customers and their constituents, today announced that wholly-owned subsidiary Reprints Desk, Inc. has signed distribution deals with seven additional scientific, technical and medical (STM) journal publishers, expanding the pay-per-view content available to Reprints Desk customers and enhancing the speed of delivery.

16 Dec 2009

Naurex commences dosing in its GLYX-13 Phase I clinical trial for treatment-resistant depression

Naurex Inc., a new clinical stage company developing innovative treatments for depression and other CNS disorders based on its novel GFPA NMDA receptor modulators, today announced that it has initiated a Phase I clinical trial of its lead compound GLYX-13 and has successfully dosed the first subjects in the study.

16 Dec 2009

Modulating PN aggregase pathway may offer hope for Alzheimer’s disease

Proteostasis Therapeutics announced today that modulating a key Proteostasis Network (PN) pathway may offer a novel approach to Alzheimer’s disease, a finding that was published in the journal Cell by its scientific founders Andrew Dillin, Ph.D., and Jeffery Kelly, Ph.D. The publication describes how regulation of an aggregase pathway reduced the neurodegenerative effects of beta amyloid aggregates that are a hallmark of the disease.

16 Dec 2009

Higher leptin levels associated with lower incidence of AD and dementia

Persons with higher levels of leptin, a protein hormone produced by fat cells and involved in the regulation of appetite, may have an associated reduced incidence of Alzheimer disease and dementia, according to a study in the December 16 issue of JAMA.

16 Dec 2009

University of Florida obtains stimulus grant to establish ataxia consortium

University of Florida neurologists are trying to change that with the help of a $1 million Challenge grant from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke to establish a nationwide network of physician-scientists with expertise in clinical ataxia research.

16 Dec 2009

Tarenflurbil drug does not appear to benefit Alzheimer’s patients

Although there were promising results in a phase 2 trial, patients with mild Alzheimer disease who received the drug tarenflurbil as part of a phase 3 trial did not have better outcomes on measures of cognitive decline or loss of activities of daily living compared to patients who received placebo, according to a study in the December 16 issue of JAMA.

15 Dec 2009

New technique may help diagnose treatments for Alzheimer's, diabetes and cancer

Chemists and biologists from the University of Bath have developed a new technique that could be used to diagnose and develop treatments for age-related conditions like Alzheimer's disease, diabetes and cancer.

15 Dec 2009

Cerebrospinal fluid signature and PiB imaging help predict Alzheimer's disease

Early Alzheimer's disease detected by a compound that binds to brain plaques appears likely to progress into symptomatic Alzheimer's disease with dementia, according to a report in the December issue of Archives of Neurology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

15 Dec 2009

Mutant ATPase blocks autophagy partway and causes multi-tissue degenerative disease

It's important to finish what you start, say Jeong-Sun Ju and researchers from Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis. In the December 14, 2009 issue of the Journal of Cell Biology (www.jcb.org), Ju et al. reveal how a mutant ATPase blocks autophagy partway through to cause a multi-tissue degenerative disease.

15 Dec 2009

Cancer patients with dementia have lower survival rate than patients with cancer alone, says study

A new study published by researchers from the University of Georgia and the Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Fla., has found that cancer patients with dementia have a dramatically lower survival rate than patients with cancer alone, even after controlling for factors such as age, tumor type and tumor stage.

15 Dec 2009

Modifications to Phase II study AD201 and open label extension study AD251 for ELND005 notified

Elan Corporation, plc and Transition Therapeutics, Inc. today notified clinical investigators of modifications to the Phase II study AD201 and open label extension study AD251 for ELND005, a compound being developed for the potential treatment of Alzheimer’s disease.

15 Dec 2009

Sword Diagnostics receives patent on improved sensitivity technology for detection of biological organisms

Sword Diagnostics, Inc. is pleased to announce that the United States Patent Office (USPTO) has issued patent number 7,599,057 titled "Method and Apparatus for Detection of Biological Organisms using Raman Scattering" to the company.

15 Dec 2009

Brain plaques associated with increased risk of Alzheimer's disease

Scientists have long assumed that amyloid brain plaques found in autopsies of Alzheimer's patients are harmful and cause Alzheimer's disease. But autopsies of people with no signs of mental impairment have also revealed brain plaques, challenging this theory.

15 Dec 2009

ZYPREXA RELPREVV approved by FDA

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved ZYPREXA RELPREVV (olanzapine) For Extended Release Injectable Suspension for the treatment of schizophrenia in adults, Eli Lilly and Company announced today.

14 Dec 2009

Scientists present new research on adipocyte regulation

The ninth Colloque Médecine et Recherche of la Fondation Ipsen devoted to Endocrinology, held in Paris on December 4, 2009, has reviewed the recent progress in understanding the regulation of fat storage in the body and the consequences of the breakdown of this regulation.

14 Dec 2009

At the Crossroads: A guide to Alzheimer’s disease, dementia and driving

Every 70 seconds, someone develops Alzheimer’s disease.¹ In conjunction with National Older Driver Safety Awareness Week, Dec. 6-12, leading researchers are joining forces to encourage families to talk openly with loved ones about driving as soon as they are diagnosed with a form of dementia.

14 Dec 2009