Phase I Data From Avid Radiopharmaceuticals’ Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s Disease Imaging Programs to Be Presented at the 55th Annual Society of Nuclear Medicine Meeting
Avid Radiopharmaceuticals, Inc. announced today that new clinical imaging data highlighting the proof of concept results for the Company’s lead technology will be presented at the upcoming 55th Annual Society of Nuclear Medicine (SNM) meeting in New Orleans being held the week of June 16, 2008. The presentations will cover research and development results on several F-18 radiopharmaceuticals being studied by Avid for imaging amyloid plaque, a key pathological component of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), as well as the VMAT2, a marker of dopaminergic synapse density, which is affected in diseases such as Parkinson’s disease (PD) and Dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB).
Alzheimer’s Disease Supersedes Diabetes As Sixth Leading Cause Of Death In The United States
Alzheimer’s disease is now the sixth leading cause of death in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) National Center for Health Statistics. The CDC estimates that 72,914 Americans died of Alzheimer’s disease in 2006. With an unprecedented historic population shift of 78 million aging baby boomers in the country and this disease poised to strike 10 million boomers - it is clear this escalating epidemic must be addressed now.
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Neuronal loss in Alzheimer’s is reduced
Australian neuroscientists say they might have found a new method of reducing neuronal loss in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients.
Researchers at the Queensland Brain Institute, located at the University of Queensland, said memory loss in Alzheimer’s disease can be attributed to several factors. Those include a buildup of the neuro-toxin Amyloid beta and a corresponding degeneration of a specific population of nerve cells in the basal forebrain.
Mechanism Explains Link Between Apolipoprotein E And Alzheimer’s Disease
Scientists have discovered a previously unknown mechanism by which apolipoprotein E, a molecule whose mutation is linked to Alzheimer’s disease (AD), stimulates degradation of sticky amyloid beta (Aβ) protein within the brain. The research, published by Cell Press in the June 12 issue of the journal Neuron, may lead to a powerful new therapy for this devastating disease.
Epix launches second Alzheimer’s trial
Epix Pharmaceuticals Inc. has launched a second mid-stage human clinical trial to test a new Alzheimer’s treatment, the company said Wednesday.
The latest trial, which is set to last three months, tests the drug on its own. A previous six-month trial that began earlier this month is testing the drug — PRX-03140 — in combination with another treatment.
New Class of Drugs May Fight Alzheimer’s
A class of drugs called gamma-secretase modulators shows potential for treating Alzheimer’s disease, a new study suggests.
A hallmark of Alzheimer’s is so-called amyloid plaque, which develops tangles in the brain. The gamma-secretase modulators reduce the production of long pieces of amyloid beta protein that stick together and form clumps. At the same time, the drugs increase the production of shorter amyloid beta that blocks longer amyloid beta from sticking together, the researchers explained.
Tracing the Path from DNA to Dementia
By IRENE M. WIELAWSKI for The New York Times
Dr. Marcelle Morrison-Bogorad is director of the neuroscience and neuropsychology of aging program at the National Institute on Aging. In collaboration with the Alzheimer’s Association, the institute runs the Alzheimer’s Disease Genetics Initiative, which is collecting and banking genetic and cellular material from families in which multiple relatives have late-onset Alzheimer’s, the most common form of the disease.
Light therapy can slow dementia
The Dutch team used brighter daytime lighting - without or without the drug melatonin - to improve patients’ sleep, mood and cut aggressive behaviour.
Astra, Targacept to test Alzheimer’s drug in ADHD
AstraZeneca Plc (AZN.L: Quote, Profile, Research) and U.S. biotech firm Targacept Inc (TRGT.O: Quote, Profile, Research) are to test an experimental drug already in development for Alzheimer’s disease as a treatment for attention deficit in adults.
The initiation of the Phase II clinical trial of AZD3480 in adults with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) follows evidence from early tests that the compound has “compelling attentional effects”, Targacept said on Tuesday.
AZD3480 is currently being tested in two Phase IIb trials for mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease and cognitive dysfunction in schizophrenia. Those trials are expected to be completed in the second half of 2008.
Targacept, which was spun out of the research arm of R.J. Reynolds Tobacco in 2000, specialises in developing drugs that affect similar pathways within the brain as nicotine to treat a range of disorders.
In addition to its work with AstraZeneca, the U.S. firm also signed a major drug research deal with GlaxoSmithKline Plc (GSK.L: Quote, Profile, Research) last July to tackle the treatment of pain and other conditions. (Reporting by Ben Hirschler, editing by Will Waterman)
Queensland Brain Institute scientists make Alzheimer’s discovery
It is already known a build-up of the neurotoxin amyloid beta, and the breakdown of nerve cells, are common factors in the illness.
Doctor Elizabeth Coulson says her team has discovered a molecule known as the “cell death protein” which sits outside brain cells and tells them to shut down when it detects the neurotoxin.
She says when the protein is removed, cells stop breaking down.
“What happens in the adult brain is that when this amyloid beta is around in sufficiently high quantities - as you might find in Alzheimer’s disease - that the cells are told to shut down,” she said.
“If you get rid of the P-75 protein, the cells can still stay alive.”