Scientists who recently identified the molecular start of Alzheimer’s disease have used that finding to determine that it should be possible to forecast which type of dementia will develop over time – a form of personalized medicine for neurodegenerative diseases. A new study from UT Southwestern shows that single toxic tau proteins that stick together and spread degeneration across the brains of dementia patients have different shapes. The folds of these
A scientific strategy that explores therapeutic targets based on the biology of aging is gaining ground as an effective approach to prevent and treat Alzheimer's disease, accordingdd to research published in the December 7, 2018 online issue of Neurology®. A comprehensive review of the clinical trial landscape, including current agents being studied for the prevention and treatment of Alzheimer's disease (and other dementias), points to the need to develop and test
Researchers at Johns Hopkins Medicine have identified in live human brains new radioactive “tracer” molecules that bind to and “light up” tau tangles, a protein associated with a number of neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer’s disease and other related dementias. Two studies will be published back-to-back in the December issue of Journal of Nuclear Medicine—one as featured article of the month—describing testing of three candidate molecules in patients with Alzheimer’s disease, as
IntraBio Inc., a late-stage biopharmaceutical company developing novel therapies for common and rare (“orphan”) neurodegenerative diseases, announced results for its lead compound series (IB1000s) for the treatment of dementia, including positive clinical results from compassionate-use studies in patients with Lewy Body Dementia and Fronto-Temporal Dementia, and from pre-clinical studies in Alzheimer’s Disease. Recent compassionate-use studies with IB1000s in patients with Lewy Body Dementia and Fronto-Temporal Dementia showed meaningful improvement in quality
A DNA vaccine tested in mice reduces accumulation of both types of toxic proteins associated with Alzheimer’s disease, according to research that scientists say may pave the way to a clinical trial. A new study by UT Southwestern’s Peter O’Donnell Jr. Brain Institute shows that a vaccine delivered to the skin prompts an immune response that reduces buildup of harmful tau and beta-amyloid – without triggering severe brain swelling that earlier antibody
People with Alzheimer’s disease who were treated with diabetes drugs showed considerably fewer markers of the disease including abnormal microvasculature and disregulated gene expressions in their brains compared to Alzheimer’s patients without treatment for diabetes, Mount Sinai researchers report. Results of the study will be published in PLOS One online on November 1st at 2PM. This is the first study to examine what happens in the pathways of both brain tissue and endothelial
(HealthDay)—There's growing evidence that the herpes virus responsible for cold sores also may cause Alzheimer's disease, a new research paper contends. It's been long known that herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV1) can been found in the brains of elderly people with Alzheimer's disease, and research has shown that herpes increases Alzheimer's risk in people genetically predisposed to dementia, said researcher Ruth Itzhaki. Newer data suggest that treating people with antiviral
Ted Turner recently announced that he has Lewy body dementia, a diagnosis that the late comic and actor Robin Williams was given after his death. The disease is frequently unrecognized even by doctors, despite the fact that Lewy body dementia is the second most common dementia. In one study, almost 70 percent of people diagnosed with Lewy body dementia saw three consultants before receiving the diagnosis. For a third of
September is World Alzheimer’s Month, and subjective cognitive decline, or SCD, can be a warning sign for the disease. Symptoms can include losing one’s train of thought, forgetting the content of a movie soon after the credits roll and feeling overwhelmed when making plans or coordinating events. Kim Innes, an epidemiology professor from the West Virginia University School of Public Health, and her team are studying the potential benefits of a simple meditation or
A University of Adelaide-led team of scientists has suggested a potential link between iron in our cells and the rare gene mutations that cause Alzheimer’s disease, which could provide new avenues for future research. In a paper published in the journal Frontiers in Neuroscience, the team proposes a new theory for how rare gene mutations cause Alzheimer’s disease. A theory that, if proven, could assist in finding a way to prevent the
(Reuters) - Eisai Co Ltd and Biogen Inc will move forward with late-stage clinical trials of their Alzheimer’s disease drug, BAN2401, and are working with regulators to design the next studies and gain expedited review as a breakthrough therapy. The companies announced this month that despite failing at an earlier stage, the drug slowed Alzheimer’s progression at its highest dose, providing renewed hope in a field littered with failures. In
Deep brain stimulation (DBS) may slow the progression of tremor for early-stage Parkinson’s disease patients, according to a Vanderbilt University Medical Center study released in the June 29 online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. The study is the first evidence of a treatment that slows the progression of one of the cardinal features of Parkinson’s, but a larger-scale clinical trial across multiple investigational centers
During the past decade, researchers have identified new ways to detect the earliest biological signs of Alzheimer’s disease. These early signs, which are detected by biomarkers, may be present before a person starts to exhibit physical symptoms. What biomarker screening doesn’t reveal, however, is how likely it is that a person who tests positive will eventually develop the dementia associated with Alzheimer’s disease. That’s where the new predictions from researchers
Scientists know that faulty proteins can cause harmful deposits or “aggregates” in neurological disorders such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. Although the causes of these protein deposits remain a mystery, it is known that abnormal aggregates can result when cells fail to transmit proper genetic information to proteins. University of California San Diego Professor Susan Ackerman and her colleagues first highlighted this cause of brain disease more than 10 years
A recent study from researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai provides new insights into a link between inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and Parkinson’s disease, and may have significant implications for the treatment and prevention of Parkinson’s disease. The recent study, published in JAMA Neurology, shows that individuals with IBD are at a 28% higher risk of developing Parkinson’s disease than those without IBD. However, if they
Years before people start showing characteristic symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease, sticky plaques begin forming in their brains, damaging nearby cells. For decades, doctors have sought ways to clear out these plaques as a way to prevent or treat the disease. The sticky clumps, known as amyloid plaques, are composed primarily of a brain protein called amyloid beta. But nestled within the plaques are small amounts of another Alzheimer’s protein: APOE.
Concussions and other traumatic brain injuries may increase the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease earlier in life, according to a study from UT Southwestern’s Peter O’Donnell Jr. Brain Institute. The research – the first to use autopsy-confirmed cases of Alzheimer’s disease to examine the long-term effects of head injuries – supports a correlation that could only be speculated about in previous studies, which lacked definitive diagnostic methods. An analysis of more than
A team of researchers from the Cleveland Clinic Lerner Research Institute have found that gradually depleting an enzyme called BACE1 completely reverses the formation of amyloid plaques in the brains of mice with Alzheimer’s disease, thereby improving the animals’ cognitive function. The study, which will be published February 14 in the Journal of Experimental Medicine, raises hopes that drugs targeting this enzyme will be able to successfully treat Alzheimer’s disease in
Systemic clearing of senescent astrocytes prevents Parkinson's neuropathology and associated symptoms in a mouse model of sporadic disease, the type implicated in 95% of human cases. Publishing in Cell Reports, researchers in the Andersen lab at the Buck Institute provide a new potential therapeutic avenue for the incurable, progressive neurological disorder that affects up to one million Americans, robbing them of the ability to control movement. Senescent cells, which stop dividing
Genentech researchers have identified an enzyme that shifts pancreatic cancer cells to a more aggressive, drug-resistant state by epigenetically modifying the cells’ chromatin. The study, which will be published December 11 in the Journal of Cell Biology, suggests that targeting this enzyme could make pancreatic cancer cells more vulnerable to existing therapies that currently have only limited effect against this deadly form of cancer. The vast majority of cancers originate in
