Alzheimer's & Dementia News and Research

Latest Alzheimer's & Dementia News and Research

Scientists identify enzyme to prevent beta-amyloids formation in Alzheimer patients

The brains of Alzheimer patients have high accumulations of the material beta-amyloid, which appear in the form of plaques. The precursors of these plaques are believed to be the underlying cause of the nerve cell loss that leads to the disruptions in memory that characterize Alzheimer's disease. The main aim of many Alzheimer therapies is therefore to inhibit the formation of beta-amyloid. Since beta-amyloid is cleaved from the so-called amyloid precursor protein (APP), scientists have focused on stopping the two enzymes that attack the precursor protein. These act like molecular scissors and cut out the beta-amyloid fragment. Blocking these scissors precludes the formation of beta-amyloid.

31 Jul 2010

FDA lifts hold, allows Geron to proceed with Phase I clinical trial of GRNOPC1 in spinal cord injury

Geron Corporation announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has notified the company that the clinical hold placed on Geron's Investigational New Drug (IND) application has been lifted and the company's Phase I clinical trial of GRNOPC1 in patients with acute spinal cord injury may proceed.

30 Jul 2010

Partners in ENIAC project announce details of multinational/multidisciplinary program

The partners in a new publicly-funded European research project today announced details of the multinational/multidisciplinary program: 'CSI: Central Nervous System Imaging.' This three-year ENIAC project aims to achieve substantial advances in state-of-the-art medical 3D-imaging platforms by focusing on the diagnosis and therapy of serious diseases of the central nervous system and brain.

30 Jul 2010

New health reform law to benefit 30 million women: Commonwealth Fund report

Thirty million women will benefit from the new health reform law over the next decade, either through new or strengthened insurance coverage, according to a new report from The Commonwealth Fund. In the first analysis of its kind, the authors report that the law will stabilize and reverse the growing exposure to health costs that women now experience by subsidizing health insurance for up to 15 million currently uninsured women, and strengthening existing coverage for 14.5 million women who are considered underinsured-those who have health coverage that does not adequately protect them from high medical expenses.

30 Jul 2010

Researchers find new pathway that leads to brain cell death in neurodegenerative disorders

Although their genetic underpinnings differ, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease and Huntington's disease are all characterized by the untimely death of brain cells. What triggers cell death in the brain? According to a new study published by researchers at Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute in the July 30 issue of Molecular Cell, the answer in some cases is the untimely transfer of a gaseous molecule (known as nitric oxide, or NO) from one protein to another.

30 Jul 2010

Curaxis completes reverse merger with Auto Search Cars

Curaxis Pharmaceutical Corp. is pleased to announce the completion of its reverse merger with Auto Search Cars, Inc.. The effective date of the Merger is July 29, 2010.

30 Jul 2010

Intra-Cellular Therapies ITI-007 Phase Ib/II clinical trial for schizophrenia meets primary endpoint

Intra-Cellular Therapies, Inc. today announced the results from a Phase Ib/II clinical trial in patients with schizophrenia with ITI-007, the Company's unique, investigational new drug for the treatment of schizophrenia. The trial met its primary endpoint demonstrating that ITI-007 was safe and well-tolerated in patients with stabilized schizophrenia.

30 Jul 2010

Tel Aviv University discovers molecular power behind memory

Neuroscientists have long wondered how individual connections between brain cells remain diverse and "fit" enough for storing new memories. Reported in the prestigious science journal Neuron, a new study led by Dr. Inna Slutsky of the Sackler School of Medicine at Tel Aviv University describes what makes some memories stick.

30 Jul 2010

ACADIA initiates new pimavanserin Phase III trial for Parkinson's disease psychosis

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc., a biopharmaceutical company utilizing innovative technology to fuel drug discovery and clinical development of novel treatments for central nervous system disorders, today announced that it has initiated a new Phase III trial designed to evaluate the efficacy, tolerability and safety of pimavanserin as a treatment for patients with Parkinson's disease psychosis (PDP).

30 Jul 2010

Safeguard Scientifics second-quarter aggregate revenue of partner companies increase 47% to $91.6 million

Safeguard Scientifics, Inc., a holding company that builds value in growth-stage life sciences and technology companies, today announced that aggregate revenue of its partner companies for the three months ended June 30, 2010 was $91.6 million, up 47% from $62.3 million for the same partner companies in the same period of 2009. For the six months ended June 30, 2010, the aggregate partner company revenue was $176.9 million, up 45% from $121.8 million for the same partner companies for the same period of 2009.

29 Jul 2010

Aptuit announces strategic partnership Siena Biotech

Aptuit, Inc., and Siena Biotech S.p.A., today announced a strategic partnership in which Siena Biotech will take a minority stake in Aptuit's Italian operations in Verona, Italy, and Aptuit will become a provider of choice for Siena Biotech's development pipeline. Under the agreement Aptuit and Siena Biotech will work collaboratively on the development of Siena Biotech's pipeline of compounds, focused in three key therapeutic areas, including Alzheimer's disease, Huntington's disease and oncology.

29 Jul 2010

Scientists identify new targets to develop treatment for HD

Scientists at the Buck Institute for Age Research have discovered that a particular family of enzymes are involved in the breakdown of proteins that modify the production of toxic fragments that lead to the pathology of Huntington's disease. These enzymes, matrix metalloproteinases, provide new targets for drug therapies for the disease - targets that have already been shown to respond to cancer drugs currently in clinical development.

29 Jul 2010

State Senate passes legislation to protect, return wandering elders with Alzheimer's disease

The Alzheimer's Association announced that passage of legislation today by the State Senate to establish a Silver Alert program will help hundreds of thousands in Massachusetts. The legislation, passed unanimously last week in the House, calls for program similar to Amber Alert with distinct differences. Silver Alert will be activated when an adult with Alzheimer's or other type of dementia wanders.

29 Jul 2010

REM sleep behavior disorder may later lead to neurologic disorders

A new study shows that a sleep disorder may be a sign of dementia or Parkinson's disease up to 50 years before the disorders are diagnosed. The research is published in the July 28, 2010, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

29 Jul 2010

Loss of key nerve cells cause Parkinson's disease: Research

Scientists at the Stanford University School of Medicine have identified a molecular pathway responsible for the death of key nerve cells whose loss causes Parkinson's disease. This discovery not only may explain how a genetic mutation linked to Parkinson's causes the cells' death, but could also open the door to new therapeutic approaches for the malady.

29 Jul 2010

Delirium increases risk of death in older patients

A review and analysis of previous research indicates that delirium in elderly patients is associated with an increased risk of death, dementia, and institutionalization, independent of age, co-existing illnesses or illness severity, according to a study in the July 28 issue of JAMA.

28 Jul 2010

Calcium transfer impacts fuel mechanism for normal cell metabolism

University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine researchers have described a previously unknown biological mechanism in cells that prevents them from cannibalizing themselves for fuel. The mechanism involves the fuel used by cells under normal conditions and relies on an ongoing transfer of calcium between two cell components via an ion channel. Without this transfer, cells start consuming themselves as a way of to get enough energy.

28 Jul 2010

Research on method to open blood-brain barrier for safe cancer drug delivery

One of the human body's most powerful defensive tools, the blood-brain barrier is a chemical labyrinth that prevents toxins and viruses in the bloodstream from reaching the brain. This foolproof security system, however, limits the ability of physicians to deliver drugs directly to the brain, making it difficult to treat brain tumors. Researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute are endeavoring to solve this problem by investigating new methods for bypassing the blood-brain barrier and combating the spread of brain cancer.

28 Jul 2010

Journal of Mental Health features special issue on diagnosing mental illness

This month Journal of Mental Health features a special issue on diagnosing mental illness. The issue - which comes out just weeks after the eagerly-awaited new draft of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, the global diagnostic 'bible' for the field of mental health medicine - includes a series of articles written by high profile mainstream personalities on what a diagnosis of mental illness has meant to them.

27 Jul 2010

Health care industry and professionals respond to seniors' growing health needs

The explosive growth of the USA's older population is fueling a grass-roots 'village' movement in neighborhoods across the country to help people age in their own homes. More than 50 villages in a neighbor-helping-neighbor system have sprouted in the past decade from California and Colorado to Nebraska and Massachusetts.

27 Jul 2010

Alzheimer's & Dementia News and Research

Latest Alzheimer's & Dementia News and Research

Scientists identify enzyme to prevent beta-amyloids formation in Alzheimer patients

FDA lifts hold, allows Geron to proceed with Phase I clinical trial of GRNOPC1 in spinal cord injury

Partners in ENIAC project announce details of multinational/multidisciplinary program

New health reform law to benefit 30 million women: Commonwealth Fund report

Researchers find new pathway that leads to brain cell death in neurodegenerative disorders

Curaxis completes reverse merger with Auto Search Cars

Intra-Cellular Therapies ITI-007 Phase Ib/II clinical trial for schizophrenia meets primary endpoint

Tel Aviv University discovers molecular power behind memory

ACADIA initiates new pimavanserin Phase III trial for Parkinson's disease psychosis

Safeguard Scientifics second-quarter aggregate revenue of partner companies increase 47% to $91.6 million

Aptuit announces strategic partnership Siena Biotech

Scientists identify new targets to develop treatment for HD

State Senate passes legislation to protect, return wandering elders with Alzheimer's disease

REM sleep behavior disorder may later lead to neurologic disorders

Loss of key nerve cells cause Parkinson's disease: Research

Delirium increases risk of death in older patients

Calcium transfer impacts fuel mechanism for normal cell metabolism

Research on method to open blood-brain barrier for safe cancer drug delivery

Journal of Mental Health features special issue on diagnosing mental illness

Health care industry and professionals respond to seniors' growing health needs

eBook: Advancing neurodegenerative research with iPSC-derived microglia models eBook

Evolving spectrophotometry for modern biopharma workflows

Scaling B-cell cloning workflows for antibody development

Fluidics in Modern Healthcare & Medical Device Innovation

Alzheimer's & Dementia News and Research

Latest Alzheimer's & Dementia News and Research

eBook: Advancing neurodegenerative research with iPSC-derived microglia models eBook

Evolving spectrophotometry for modern biopharma workflows

Scaling B-cell cloning workflows for antibody development

Fluidics in Modern Healthcare & Medical Device Innovation

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