Obama administration proposes raise for Alzheimer’s research, some now and some next year

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Washington Post


WASHINGTON — The Obama administration is increasing spending on Alzheimer’s research — planning to surpass half a billion dollars next year — as part of a quest to find effective treatments for the brain-destroying disease by 2025.

In a two-part plan announced Tuesday, the National Institutes of Health immediately will devote an extra $50 million dementia research, on top of the $450 million a year it currently spends. The boost opens the possibility that at least one stalled study of a possible therapy might get to start soon.


Next week, President Barack Obama will ask Congress for $80 million in new money to spend for Alzheimer’s research in 2013.

“The science of Alzheimer’s disease has reached a very interesting juncture,” with promising new findings to pursue after years of false starts, NIH Director Dr. Francis Collins told The Associated Press. “We would love to be able to come up with a way of bringing forward an even larger amount of support.”

Patient advocates have long said the nation’s spending on Alzheimer’s research is far too little considering the disease’s current and coming toll. More than 5 million people already have Alzheimer’s or related dementias, a number that, barring a medical breakthrough, is expected to more than double by 2050 because of the aging population. By then, the medical and nursing home bills are projected to cost $1 trillion annually.

At a meeting last month, some of the government’s own Alzheimer’s advisers said it could take a research investment of as much as $2 billion a year to make a real impact. “Our country cannot afford not to make these commitments,” Alzheimer’s Association President Harry Johns told that meeting.

For comparison, the government spends nearly $3 billion on AIDS research; about 1.1 million Americans are living with the AIDS virus.

But Tuesday, advocates praised the administration for making a needed down payment in tough economic times.

“This is a positive step forward. It’s going to take additional steps on the journey that’s going to get us to the end of this,” Johns said.

“There is no doubt that there is commitment that needs to be applauded here,” added Eric J. Hall, president of the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America.

The move is part of the administration’s development of the first National Alzheimer’s Plan, to combine research toward better treatments — the goal is to have some by 2025 — along with steps to help overwhelmed families better cope today. In addition to the biomedical research, the administration said it will propose spending $26 million for other goals of the still-to-be-finalized plan, including caregiver support.

“Reducing the burden of Alzheimer’s disease on patients and their families is an urgent national priority,” Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said.

Given the nation’s fiscal problems, it’s not clear what the chances are in Congress for a boost in next year’s Alzheimer’s funding.

But for this year, Collins said Alzheimer’s is such a priority that the NIH will shift some of its budget from other research areas to eke out an extra $50 million right away.

Among his examples: Some cutting-edge gene-mapping will be directed to concentrate on uncovering the genetics of Alzheimer’s, including what protects the brains of some people in dementia-prone families. Collins also said he will determine whether the extra money is enough to start some clinical trials that otherwise would have to wait, including one to test whether an intranasal form of insulin might reach and protect the brain cells of people with early dementia symptom

Valentine Gifts for Those With Dementia

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Over 5.4 million Americans are living with dementia. Is one of them someone you know or work with? Get him/her or anyone with Alzheimer's disease a Valentine's Day gift that will keep on giving long after the holiday is gone.

First on the list of gifts is a book by Susan Berg called Adorable Photographs of Our Baby -- Meaningful, Mind-Stimulating Activities and More for the Memory Challenged, Their Loved Ones and Involved Professionals, This book features baby photographs that seniors with dementia love. This book shares a plethora of ideas and resources for you.

Another gift dementia persons will fancy is a love classic musical video or DVD. They will enjoy watching something from the good old days and singing the songs played throughout the picture. Here are a few suggestions: Singin' in the Rain, Meet Me in St. Louis, or Shall We Dance

Next is a sing a long CD or audio cassette of their favorite love songs. There is a series of these called, Old Time Favorites by Nancy Pitkin

You may want to get a sing a long video where your loved one can see and hear performers singing songs they love and are about love. A good one is, Sing-Along with Phil Bernardi: Songs We Know and Love

Here is another idea. Give a friend with dementia some hand lotion. Any kind will do. Just be aware of any allergies or pain issues he/she might have. If he/she can tolerate it, those with a pleasant scent work well. Give him/her a relaxing hand massage talking about how good the hand massage feels, how much you love this person, and a Valentine's Day experience you both share from the past.

If you cannot afford or do not have time to get these gifts before Valentine's Day, give the gift of yourself. No matter how hard it is for you to visit a dementia person, he/she will appreciate your company even though he/she may not be able to express it. Take him/her for a walk, sing some of your favorite songs together, or share some messages of love. Just spend some quality time with a dementia person. Both of you will feel better. Do remember to be upbeat animated and excited about visiting.

A phone call or a Valentine's card will do if there is no way you can visit in person. At least they will know you are thinking of them. Then visit on another day.

So no matter what you do, do not forget the person with dementia this Valentine's Day because it will make you and him/her feel good. What could be better than that!

Order any of the products mentioned in the article at Amazon.com. Order the book, Adorable Photographs of Our Baby -- Meaningful, Mind-Stimulating Activities and More for the Memory Challenged, Their Loved Ones and Involved Professionals, the audio CDs and cassettes and the videos and DVDs at seabaygame.com

These gifts are simple, inexpensive or free, and can be enjoyed by all.

UT researchers use worms in Alzheimer's study

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abs Texas

AUSTIN, TX -- University of Texas researchers Adela Ben-Yakar and Jon Pierce-Shimomura are on a mission. It's professional, personal and not conducive to patience.

Armed with a five-year, $3 million grant from the National Institutes of Health for "exceptionally innovative" research projects that can shift science in new directions, the two colleagues are devoting a large part of their professional lives to collaborating on new drug therapies for Alzheimer's disease that might also slow down the aging process. It's personal because Ben-Yakar's mother has Alzheimer's disease and is deteriorating. Pierce-Shimomura's 10-year-old son has Down syndrome, which causes premature aging and a high risk of developing memory-stealing Alzheimer's.

"I got into this because of him," said Pierce-Shimomura, an assistant professor in neurobiology.

Ben-Yakar, an associate professor of mechanical engineering, echoes that sentiment. "I'm losing her every day," she said of her 78-year-old mother.

Neither has the time to be patient. Perhaps that is why they have turned to roundworms, rather than the traditional lab mice, for their drug studies.

The two are testing chemicals on minuscule worms, called C. elegans, because of the worms' brief life span -- about 15 days -- and the quick results that can be gathered when testing drugs on them.

The primitive worms share essential biological characteristics with humans, making them an effective tool for researchers.

"If we give the worm an extra copy of a gene, it contributes to the protein that makes up Alzheimer plaques," Pierce-Shimomura said. "When worms get that gene, they develop the disease in middle age."

The worms reach middle age in about five days; mice would take two years, Pierce-Shimomura said.

The researchers can peer at the transparent worms with a fluorescent microscope -- an area of Ben-Yakar's expertise -- and see the nerve cells dying.

They also can test to see whether any chemicals delay the degeneration of the neurons, Ben-Yakar said.

She has pioneered a device using microtechnologies to manipulate a large group of worms at once, making the process more efficient and faster than manipulating the worms manually, one at a time.

As a result, she and Pierce-Shimomura can use the nation's vast drug library to test a million drugs a year, rather than just a thousand.

Without the ability to manipulate the worms and treat with chemical compounds in this manner, "it would take 1,000 years to test 1 million drugs," Ben-Yakar said.

In addition to testing drugs that might delay or even prevent Alzheimer's disease, "the goal is to discover drugs we don't even know about," Ben-Yakar said.

One drug they are experimenting with has been working well in the worms and also has shown promise in rodent and human trials, the researchers said. They declined to name the drug, saying they first need to publish the results.

Their work has just begun, and so far, they have tested only about a dozen compounds, Pierce-Shimomura said.

Understanding how neurons degenerate -- as they do during Alzheimer's -- can also provide important clues to aging, they said.

When humans and animals age, neurons degenerate and die. "The question is," Pierce-Shimomura said, "are there different kinds of neurons that degenerate and can something be done about it."

By working together, he and Ben-Yakar hope to get answers.

Collaborations involving biologists and engineers are producing medical devices, advances in delivering drugs and new treatments.

"It's encouraged by the grant-making agencies," Ben-Yakar said. "We know we cannot confront the future challenges by sitting alone by ourselves in our offices and labs."

Nor do she and her colleague have that kind of time.

(Copyright ©2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

Agent Lights Up Alzheimer's Tangles

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By MedPage Today Staff2

Lighting Up the Tangles

Several contrast agents are in development for imaging beta-amyloid plaques in patients with incipient Alzheimer's disease, but what about the disorder's other major pathology, neurofibrillary tangles? Nothing suitable has yet come along for measuring these abnormalities in live patients.

That may now be changing, thanks to efforts by Masahiro Ono, PhD, and colleagues at Japan's Kyoto University. In ACS Medicinal Chemistry Letters, they say they have identified a new agent that binds both to beta-amyloid plaques and to neurofibratory tangles made of rogue tau proteins.

Studies in mice showed that the compound, based on fluorine-18, is stable enough in vivo to serve as a useful contrast agent. And, when applied to brain sections from deceased Alzheimer's disease patients, tangles as well as plaques lit up brightly in PET and SPECT scans.

-- J.G.

Health Discovery of new active compounds against Alzheimer''s disease

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ENEVA,(KUNA) -- Based on computer simulations, biochemists from the University of Zurich in Switzerland have shown on Tuesday shown how the active compounds and fragments of the peptide, that causes Alzheimer disease, interact with each other and found that it is the disordered structure of the peptide that determines the interactions with active compounds.
"Various molecules have been synthesized that inhibit self-assembly of the amyloid beta peptide in vitro. This peptide is strongly linked to Alzheimer's disease," said Dr. Andreas Vitalis to KUNA.
Dr. Vitalis said that more than half of all cases of dementia in the elderly can be attributed to Alzheimer's disease, adding that despite vast research efforts; an effective therapy has not been developed, and treatment consists of dealing with the symptoms.
He noted that changes in brain tissues are a hallmark of Alzheimer's. In affected individuals, small protein fragments known as amyloid beta peptides accumulate and are deposited in the gray brain matter, said Dr.Vitalis.
Researchers recently identified a series of synthetic compounds (inhibitors) that interfere with the self-assembly of the amyloid beta peptide in vitro; they influence both early stages and the transition to the characteristic amyloid fibrils.
On a theoretical level, these compounds thus satisfy an initial condition for the development of an Alzheimer drug.
In order to understand the interactions between the amyloid beta peptide and active compounds at a structural level, Marino Convertino, Andreas Vitalis, and Amedeo Caflisch from the University of Zurich's Department of Biochemistry simulated these interactions on the computer.
"In doing so, we focused on a fragment of the peptide that is thought to control both interactions with inhibitors and progression of disease," Dr.
Vitalis explained to KUNA.
Based on these simulations, the biochemists were able to identify a hierarchy of interaction patterns between the peptide and various active compounds. To their surprise, they discovered that the disordered structure of the peptide controls the interactions.
"The peptide's disorder and flexibility enable it to adapt to many basic structural frameworks," Dr.Vitalis explained.
Often it is only subparts of the molecules that mediate interactions on the compound side. However, even minimal changes to a compound may induce measurable changes to the peptide-compound interactions.
"Design of active compounds that influence the amyloid beta peptide structurally in a specific manner will only be possible with the aid of high-resolution methods that are limited to one or a few molecules," concludes Vitalis.
In the next step, the researchers from the University of Zurich want to identify new classes of active substances with controllable properties that interact with the amyloid beta peptide

Study adds piece to the Alzheimer's puzzle

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Toronto Sun

CALGARY - Research out of the University of Calgary has endeavoured to further explain why brain cells in Alzheimer's disease patients die.

The study by scientists at the U of C's Hotchkiss Brain Institute shows the cells are being killed off as the result of a malfunctioning neurotransmitter receptor called NMDA, which is responsible for memory and learning.

It had previously been shown a malformed protein exists in Alzheimer's disease patients' brains. The recent study used animal models to show a new mechanism of how the protein kills cells.

Dr. Gerald Zamponi and Dr. Peter Stys found the NMDA receptor is strongly regulated by copper, and if copper is prevented from regulating it — as it is in Alzheimer's disease— the cells are over-stimulated and eventually die.

The malformed protein is believed to steal copper from the NMDA receptor, causing the cell deaths.

Zamponi said the discovery may open doors for the development of treatments for the neurodegenerative disease.

"We think we can design drugs that restore the normal function of the receptor, therefore protecting brain cells," he said. "It really gives you a new insight into a mechanism and really lays out a road map for developing new therapeutics."

"Ultimately, we are seeing an underlying deficiency in copper, but at a sub-cellular level,” added Stys. "Unfortunately, because of the way that the body regulates copper, we can't simply eat more of a certain kind of food or take a copper supplement to compensate.

"What we are looking at now is the development of a drug that acts on the NMDA receptor to mimic the effect of copper in the brain."

Bill Gaudette, CEO of the Alzheimer Society of Alberta and the Northwest Territories, said the results of the study are very promising.

"Finding a cure for Alzheimer's disease and dementia is really like a puzzle and this is one of the pieces in that jigsaw puzzle," he said.

There are over 5.4 million Americans with Alzheimer’s disease or related dementia, according to the Alzheimer's Association.

jenna.mcmurray@sunmedia.ca

Framework of the National Alzheimer's Plan is only the beginning

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Alzheimer's Association

The efforts and input of the Alzheimer's Association and our advocates were crucial to the passage of the National Alzheimer's Project Act (NAPA) and its upcoming implementation as the National Alzheimer's Plan. We still have much work ahead to ensure we build on the momentum to lead our country toward overcoming the Alzheimer's crisis. Lend your VOICE in the fight against Alzheimer's disease and attend the 2012 Alzheimer's Association Advocacy Forum, April 23-25, in Washington, D.C.

2012 Alzheimer's Association Advocacy Forum
Make your VOICE heard! Every story matters, every story counts.

Amplify your VOICE by joining us this year as we convene in our nation's capital on April 23-25, 2012 for the Alzheimer's Association Advocacy Forum.

Help build the national movement to end Alzheimer's by being educated about legislative issues; networking with advocates from across the nation to make our case loud and clear as we demonstrate the commitment to advancing our legislative agenda and a world without Alzheimer's disease.

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