Remarkable recent discoveries in Alzheimer’s disease

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The Dementia Caregiver's Little Book of Hope [Kindle Edition

Examiner

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Medscape Medical News reported on the latest published research in Alzheimer’s disease on November 7, 2012 indicating individuals carrying a mutant gene for Alzheimer’s disease demonstrate markers 20 years before onset of memory changes. In addition to markers in the cerebral spinal fluid, the individuals show structural changes in the brain other than the amyloid plaques and tangles commonly found in patients with the disease.

Dr. Eric M. Reiman, the first author on this recent study, published his results in Lancet Neurology on November 6, 2012. His research group from the Banner Alzheimer’s Institute in Phoenix, Arizona studied about 5000 people who carry the gene mutation that produces Alzheimer’s disease as early as age 45 years in Colombia.

Reiman and colleagues compared carriers of the gene with non-carriers and found structural differences in area of the brain called the hippocampus as well as less grey matter in some parietal lobes in individuals with the Alzheimer’s gene mutation. The parietal lobe resides at the top of the head after the frontal lobe and before the occipital lobe at the back of the head. The researchers used magnetic resonance imaging to uncover the changes in the parietal lobe. These changes occurred 20 years before the onset of memory loss. By knowing these alterations exist early, researchers can study treatments and measure for differences at these sites.

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Alzheimer’s disease causes the most common form of dementia that produces loss of thought control, memory and language. The disease usually affects men and women over the age of 60 years. The cause of Alzheimer’s disease remains presently unknown. Most scientists think several factors such as genetic, environmental and lifestyle contribute to the development of the disease. The discovery of changes in the parietal lobe and hippocampus add significantly to progress in the research.

The National Institute on Aging describes the importance of clinical research for uncovering causes, treatment modalities and disease prevention in Alzheimer’s disease. Patients or families interested in becoming involved in research trials can go the Clinical Trials.gov website for more information. The research trial website lists trials available in all 50 states and 181 countries.

Rogue researcher offers new hope for sufferers of Alzheimer's disease

Caregivers and healthcare professionals, here is some great information

Here is a great dementia resource for caregivers and healthcare professionals,

Your residents will love the Amazon Kindle Fire

Here is information on being the best caregiver you can be

Here is a way for nurses administrators, social workers and other health care  professionals to get an easyceu or two

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The Dementia Caregiver's Little Book of Hope [Kindle Edition

EmaxHealth

By Robin Wulffson MD  for eMaxHealth

• Alzheimer's Disease
 
• Aging
 
• Current News

Approximately 36 million people worldwide suffer from Alzheimer's disease or dementia. Although many researchers are of the opinion that the buildup of amyloid plaques in the brain is the underlying cause of Alzheimer’s disease, Claude Wischik, MD, PhD has long backed a minority view regarding its cause. He feels that the condition is due to a protein in the brain called tau. The company he co-founded 10 years ago, TauRx Pharmaceuticals Ltd., has developed an experimental Alzheimer’s medication that it will begin testing in the coming weeks in two large clinical trials.

Dr. Wischik has been studying Alzheimer’s disease for decade. When he was a young PhD student at Cambridge University in the 1980s, he began collecting brains. It was a daunting task because few organ banks kept entire brains. In his search for an Alzheimer’s cure, he needed to examine brain tissue from Alzheimer’s patients soon after death. That required obtaining family approvals and enlisting mortuary technicians to extract the brains. In a little over a decade, Dr. Wischik collected more than 300 brains. While collecting his specimens, he embraced a concept that, if he is right, could fundamentally transform Alzheimer’s research and raise new hopes for individuals suffering from Alzheimer’s disease or dementia.

Research finds potential for Alzheimer’s therapy

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cavalierdaily.com

by Amanda Gellet, Senior Writer

Clinical trial results, published in The Journal of Neuroscienceby Eli Lilly & Co., suggest a promising new therapy for Alzheimer’s disease.

The BACE1 inhibitor drug called LY2811376 prevents beta-secretase 1 from producing amyloid-beta, a protein fragment commonly associated with Alzheimer’s.

Researchers considered BACE1 inhibition to be a potential therapy for more than a decade, but Eli Lilly & Co.’s findings marked the first successful pharmaceutical reduction of amyloid-beta levels in humans.

In Alzheimer’s patients, amyloid-beta collects in the brain and becomes pathogenic. This excess leads to extreme memory loss, severe problems with daily activities and eventually death, said Matt Seward, a University Ph.D. student who studies Alzheimer’s disease.

During Phase I, Eli Lilly & Co. found LY2811376 lowered the levels of amyloid-beta in blood plasma and cerebrospinal fluid — the fluid surrounding the brain. The inhibitor proved more successful than other current drugs at lowering amyloid-beta levels in healthy volunteers.

This drug does not reverse the damage already caused to the brains of Alzheimer patients. Since the brain is not able to regenerate itself, Seward said a drug must be found which alters amyloid-beta levels in seemingly healthy individuals to successfully delay or prevent disease progression. The success of LY2811376 in Phase I studies suggests this drug could offer a viable solution.

Testing on pre-clinical animals demonstrated the potential side effects of long-term exposure to LY2811376, including the collection of granules in the eyes and some parts of the brain. The retina cells of the animals’ eyes became enlarged because of the number of granules which had collected in the cells. Moreover, there was evidence of degeneration in the eye. Phase I participants did not experience significant side effects.

Alzheimer’s disease accounts for 60 to 80 percent of all dementia and is the sixth-leading cause of death in the United States, according to the Alzheimer’s Association.

The number of Alzheimer’s-related deaths rose 66 percent between 2000 and 2008, reflecting the aging of the United States’ baby-boomer generation. This number is expected to continue to increase as the population becomes even older. Experts predict that by 2050 Alzheimer’s care will cost Medicare and Medicaid $800 billion annually, surpassing the country’s current military budget.

Of the top-10 causes of death in the United States, Alzheimer’s is the only disease without a treatment which prevents, cures or slows its progression.

Current therapies for Alzheimer’s only treat the symptoms of the disease. A drug such as LY2811376, which is directed at the disease itself, may represent a huge leap forward for Alzheimer’s treatment, Seward said.

Eli Lilly & Co.’s research also helped the medical community understand the principles directing the disease, he added.

“The success of LY2811376 is that it shows proof of principle,” Seward said

Intranasal insulin treatment for Alzheimer's disease

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Alzheimer's Association

Currently, there is no cure for Alzheimer's disease. But drug and non-drug treatments may help with both cognitive and behavioral symptoms. Researchers are looking for new treatments to alter the course of the disease and improve the quality of life for people with dementia.

In an article published September 13, 2011, in the Archives of Neurology, results from a small, short-term treatment trial (four months) of intranasal insulin in Alzheimer's disease and mild cognitive impairment (MCI) showed statistically significant benefits on certain tests of memory and functioning, but no changes on some others. In those people who showed benefits on memory tests, the researchers also measured changes in chemicals in participants' spinal fluid that may indicate a beneficial effect of the treatment on Alzheimer's.

It is important to note that, quite often, preliminary studies like this generate positive results but fail to show long-term benefit in larger trials. That said, these findings are very encouraging, and further research — longer trials with larger numbers of participants — of intranasal insulin as a therapy for Alzheimer's and MCI is warranted.

We urgently need earlier detection and better treatments for Alzheimer's, which is a devastating, heartbreaking and fatal disease, and a growing epidemic. This requires a greater commitment to research — increasing funding for Alzheimer's research and recruiting more volunteers for Alzheimer's clinical trials.



























































































































































Researchers selected 104 men and women for the study. All had either mild to moderate Alzheimer's or mild cognitive impairment, a condition that increases the risk of developing Alzheimer's, especially when memory is affected. The participants were divided into three groups. Using a nasal spray, each group received twice-daily doses of either lower or higher doses of insulin or a placebo.

The study found that men and women who used the lower dose of insulin nasal spray tended to score better on memory tests than those who used the placebo. No improvement was seen in those receiving the higher insulin dose. Both groups receiving insulin preserved their level of daily functioning, according to reports from their caregivers, while participants in the placebo group showed an overall decline in function. Few side effects occurred among those treated with the insulin spray, other than occasional light-headedness and dizziness or stuffy nose.

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The brain needs insulin

Over the past 10 years scientists have come to learn that insulin plays an important role in the brain, says clinical neuroscientist Suzanne Craft, of the Veterans Affairs Puget Sound Health Care System and the University of Washington School of Medicine. It helps the brain form memories, allows brain cells to communicate with one another and manages levels of brain chemicals.

All cells, including those that make up the brain, use glucose for energy. The hormone insulin makes it possible for glucose, aka blood sugar, to enter cells, enabling them to work properly. With age, however, many people develop a problem called insulin resistance, a condition in which the body and the brain do not use insulin effectively.

If glucose cannot enter brain cells, the cells won't carry out their tasks related to memory and thinking. "This sets the stage for problems in brain function that may develop into conditions like Alzheimer's disease," says Craft, lead author of the study. She and her colleagues set out to determine whether providing insulin directly to the brain could improve the cell's ability to use insulin.