Alzheimer Desease
Regulate Anti Psychotic Drugs Now, UK - Help the Aged have backed an MPs bid to regulate the prescription of anti-psychotic drugs for people with dementia in care homes.
Applied NeuroSolutions To Offer P-Tau 231 Test For Use In Alzheimer’s Disease Clinical Trials - Applied NeuroSolutions, Inc. (OTC BB:APNS)( http://www.AppliedNeuroSolutions.com), a company focused on the development of products for the early diagnosis and treatment of Alzheimer’s disease (”AD”), today announced an initiative to provide its P-Tau 231 cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) test to companies undertaking AD clinical trials.
Likely Causative Gene For Late-Onset Alzheimer’s Discovered - The genetic profile of two large Georgia families with high rates of late-onset Alzheimer’s disease points to a gene that may cause the disease, researchers say.Genetic variations called single nucleotide polymorphisms, or SNPs, are common in DNA, but this pattern of SNPs shows up in nine out of 10 affected family members, says Dr. Shirley E.
First Conclusive Evidence Of Alzheimer’s-Like Brain Tangles In Nonhuman Primates, Findings Could Pave Way For New Human Treatments - Researchers at the Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University, have discovered the first conclusive evidence of Alzheimer’s-like neurofibrillary brain tangles in an aged nonhuman primate.
Sandra Day O’connor, Newt Gingrich Testify At Aging Hearing On Alzheimer’s, USA - U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging Chairman Herb Kohl (D-WI) held a hearing on Alzheimer’s, a disease that currently affects over five million Americans and their families. Witnesses provided an update on the latest research and treatments, issues surrounding early-onset diagnoses, the importance of training and support for patient caregivers, and the need for a comprehensive strategy as more and more Americans are diagnosed with the disease.
Seeing Alzheimer’s Amyloids - In an important step toward demystifying the role protein clumps play in the development of neurodegenerative disease, researchers have created a stunning three-dimensional picture of an Alzheimer’s peptide aggregate using electron microscopy. The study, in this week’s issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, reports that researchers from Brandeis University in Waltham, Mass.
End-Stage Dementia Patients Deserve The Same Access To Palliative Care As People With Cancer - There is an urgent need to improve end-of-life care for older people in the final stages of dementia, according to an international review published in the May issue of Journal of Clinical Nursing. “We must act now to stop people with dementia from suffering from protracted, potentially uncomfortable and undignified deaths” says Jan Draper, Professor of Nursing for The Open University, UK.
Anti-Inflammatories Should Not Be Used To Prevent Alzheimer’s, Study - Results of a US study of elderly men and women with a family history of Alzheimer’s suggest that the nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) naproxen and celecoxib did not improve cognitive function and the investigators recommended against using them to prevent Alzheimer’s.
Model Shows How Mutation Tips Biochemistry To Cause Alzheimer’s - Your fate can be determined by tiny events. Imagine you live in the city and you walk everywhere to get exercise - you are healthy and not afraid of getting mugged. You almost never eat breakfast so you don’t stop at the donut shop on the way to work, until one day the manager replaces the girl at the counter with her pretty red-haired younger sister. This seemingly unimportant change in your world is just enough to overcome your ability to resist high-fat temptation.
Historically A Disappointment, Neuroprotective Drug Strategies Pursuing New Targets And Mechanisms - In terms of the number of people affected, neurological diseases that contributed to decline in neuronal function are sometimes considered the newest healthcare epidemic. With the number of cases of neurodegenerative conditions expected to grow dramatically, driven by the aging population in developed countries, this therapeutic area represents one of the most compelling in both commercial and human terms.
Alzheimer’ S Society Comment On A Review Of Palliative Care Published In The May Issue Of Journal Of Clinical Nursing, UK - One in three people over 65 will die with dementia and too many of them are subjected to an undignified and unnecessarily painful death. This is often because staff lack the specialist training to provide good care at the end of someone’s life. It is vital that all people, not just those with cancer, benefit from good palliative care. The number of people living with dementia in the UK is set to soar to more than a million in less than twenty years.
Mechanism Uncovered Of Action Of Antibiotic Able To Reduce Neuronal Cell Death In Brain - Research Highlights: Mechanism of action of compound found to induce neurotransmitter activity in brain cells The findings may lead researchers to develop potential novel therapies to treat Alzheimer’s disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Huntington’s disease,
Weight Link To Dementia - “Obesity doubles the risk of Alzheimer’s” is the headline in the Daily Express. It and other news sources report new research which found that people who are obese have an increased risk of all types of dementia. Being underweight “increased the risk of any kind of dementia by 36 per cent, while being obese increased it by 42 per cent. For Alzheimer’s disease, being obese increased the risk by 80 per cent”, the newspaper says.
Court Of Appeal Makes Decision Following Ruling That Nice Process On Anti-Dementia Medicines Unfair, UK - Eisai Limited, the licence holder of Aricept® (donepezil hydrochloride) and Pfizer Limited, its co-promotion partner, announced today that the Court of Appeal has released its decision on the consequential issues arising from Court of Appeal’s recent ruling that the process by which the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) decided to restrict anti-dementia medicines for newly diagnosed patients with mild Alzheimer’s disease was procedurally unfair.
Promoting Dignity And Independence For People Who Suffer From Dementia - Two projects by South Essex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (SEPT) to promote dignity and independence for people who suffer from dementia were highly commended at this year’s East of England Health and Social Care Awards. The innovative projects ‘Lasting Memories’ and ‘My life Story’ were launched in December 2007 and work closely with patients, their carers, families and friends to improve their quality of life.
Molecules In Plants May Have Beneficial Effect On Alzheimer’s Disease - A set of molecules found in certain plants appears to have a beneficial effect in brain tissue associated with Alzheimer’s disease, according to a new study conducted in mice. The study was led by researchers at the University of South Florida and Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. An article in the Journal of Cellular and Molecular Medicine is available online.Terrence Town, Ph.D., one of the senior authors of the study, is available to provide more information about this study.
Obesity Linked To Increased Risk For Dementia - Obesity may increase adults’ risk for having dementia, according to researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Their analysis of published obesity and dementia prospective follow-up studies over the past two decades shows a consistent relationship between the two diseases. The results are published by The International Association for the Study of Obesity in the May, 2008 issue of Obesity Reviews.
Alzheimer’s Disease: Modulating Enkephalin May Reduce Cognitive Deficits - Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is an incurable disease that is increasing in prevalence and will increase even more rapidly as the Baby Boom generation enters the age of highest risk. The available AD drugs are only partially effective in some patients. New strategies are urgently needed.
Patent Claims Allowed Covering Samaritan’s Alzheimer’s Memory Recovery Drug In Australia - Samaritan Pharmaceuticals (OTCBB:SPHC), a biopharmaceutical company committed to commercializing new innovative therapeutic drugs, has received notification that the claims in the patent application for “Neuroprotective Spirostenol Pharmaceutical Compositions” covering Caprospinol (SP-233) have been allowed by the Australian Patent Office. The hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease is plaque formation in areas of the brain that control memory and thinking skills.
Obesity Significantly Raises Dementia Risk - Underweight Also Raises Risk - Being obese can increase the risk of Alzheimer’s Disease by as much as 80 percent, according to a study in the May issue of Obesity Reviews.But it’s not just weight gain that poses a risk. People who are underweight also havean elevated risk of dementia, unlike people who are normal weight or overweight.
EPIX Pharmaceuticals Initiates Phase 2b Program In Alzheimer’s Disease - EPIX Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:EPIX), a biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering and developing novel therapeutics through the use of its proprietary and highly efficient in silico drug discovery platform, today announced that it has begun its Phase 2b program in Alzheimer’s disease through the initiation of a clinical trial of PRX-03140, its novel 5-HT4 agonist, in combination with donepezil (Aricept®).
Ibuprofen Linked To Reduced Alzheimer’s Risk - Researchers in the US studying a large patient population have shown that use of the anti-inflammatory and painkiller ibuprofen is linked to lower risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. Patients who used the drug for more than 5 years were 40 per cent less likely to develop the disease compared with patients who did not use that type of drug at all.
Anti-Inflammatory Drug - Alzheimer’s Society Comment - Alzheimer’s Society comment on new research suggesting tarenflurbil may be effective in halting symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease, from the Lancet Neurology. ‘This exciting clinical trial suggests a modification of a safe and readily available anti-inflammatory drug has a positive impact on memory and function for people with mild Alzheimer’s disease.
Alzheimer Scotland Supports Appeal Judgment On NICE Cost-effectiveness Disclosure - The Court of Appeal ruled in favour of the drug companies Pfizer and Eisai, by finding that the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) should have allowed public access to the health economics model used to determine the cost-effectiveness of key treatments in people with early stage Alzheimer’s. Three judges found that the process by which NICE decided to restrict the anti-dementia medicines for newly diagnosed patients with mild Alzheimer’s was procedurally unfair.
Sleep Disturbances Among Alzheimer Patients, Caregivers Show A Significant Difference - A study published in the May 1 issue of the journal SLEEP finds that sleep disturbances among Alzheimer patients vary significantly from those of their family caregivers, and that, surprisingly, poor sleep in either the patient or caregiver is not necessarily linked to disturbed sleep in the other.Susan M.
